Lara Durgavich

Biological anthropologist
Lara Durgavich brings historical context to human biology, sharing the importance of evolutionary medicine in personal life and beyond.

Why you should listen

Lara Durgavich teaches university courses on topics including evolutionary medicine, primate evolution and behavior, human biological variation and female reproductive physiology. Over the past 15 years, she has lectured undergraduate and graduate students at Harvard University, Boston University and Tufts University, and has earned multiple awards for teaching excellence. 

She also advocates passionately for accurate and entertaining science communication. In addition to designing a seminar to teach students skills and strategies for writing and speaking about science, Durgavich volunteers for the non-profit organization Skype A Scientist, which gives elementary through high school classrooms the opportunity to talk to scientists about their area of expertise, and is a member of the organizing team for March Mammal Madness, a social media-based tournament designed to promote science education. 

Durgavich earned her PhD in biological anthropology in 2013, following dissertation research investigating ovarian function, mating behaviors and life history in captive orangutans. She is currently a lecturer in the Anthropology Department at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Lara Durgavich’s TED talk