Leslie Aiello

Professor Emerita, University College London

President Emerita of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research

 

Email: lesliecaiello@gmail.com

Bio

Leslie is currently President Emerita of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and Professor Emerita (Biological Anthropology) at University College London. She received her B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles and her Ph.D. in human evolution and anatomy from the University of London. She spent the majority of her 30-year academic career at University College London where she was professor of biological anthropology (1995-2005), Head of the UCL Anthropology Department (1996-2002), and Head of the UCL Graduate School (2002-2005). She also served as the co-managing editor of the Journal of Human Evolution (1993-1999), and throughout her career has been active with the media in the public dissemination of science and particularly human evolution. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. She is an elected member of the American Philosophical Society, has served as an officer for a number of anthropological and scientific societies and as a consultant and advisor to a variety of international anthropological institutions and initiatives. Other honors include the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Huxley Memorial Medalist and Lecturer (2006), an Honorary Fellowship from University College London (2007) and an honorary doctorate from University of Alcala, Spain (2017).