Amanda Melin

Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology

and Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute

Executive Committee Member - Professional Development Portfolio Lead

Host-Parasite Interactions

PhD - Anthropology (Biological Anthropology)

University of Calgary, 2011

Master of Arts - Anthropology

University of Calgary, 2006

Bachelor of Science with Distinction -Zoology

University of Calgary, 2003


Research and teaching

Research

  • Sensory ecology, genetics and genomics, feeding ecology, seasonality and parasitism in wild primates


Awards

Genome Alberta COVID-19 Rapid Response Program: Genomics-Enhanced Rapid COVID-19 Pandemic Response. Co-I (I am UCalgary Lead handling all lab work; Matthew Croxen, Linda Chui PIs) - 2020-2021.

Genome Alberta COVID-19 Rapid Response Program: COVID-19 Precision Health Genomics for Children: A multiomic study of the Alberta Childhood COVID-19 Cohort. Co-I (François Bernier, PI) - 2020-2021.

Bright Focus Foundation: Omics in a naturally occurring animal glaucoma model PI. - 2020-2022.

National Science Foundation: “Feeding ontogeny at the interface of behavior and morphology” Co-I (Janine Chalk, PI)  - 2020-2025.

New Frontiers Explorations, Early Career Grant (National): “The ageing eye: integrating genomics, anatomy, and behaviour across the lifespan in a non-human primate model” PI - 2019-2021.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Program Grant (National): “Endothelial colony forming cell-derived exosomes and cardiac repair after myocardial infarction” Collaborator (I am leading gene expression studies; Vaibhav Patel is the PI) - 2019-2024.

University of Washington Seed Grant (International) “Metabolomics of aging in retinal tissue” PI - 2019-2020.

Wenner-Gren Foundation (International). “Evolutionary and ecological underpinnings of human ethanol metabolism” PI (Postdoc Mareike Janiak, Co-I) - 2019-2021.

National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant and Discovery Accelerator Supplement (National). “Primate dietary ecology and sensory evolution” PI - 2017-2021.

Canadian Foundation for Innovation (National): “Primate genomics and dietary ecology” PI - 2017-2020.

University of Calgary ‘Eyes High’ postdoctoral scholar recruitment competition (Institutional): “The aging eye” PI - 2019-2021.

The Leakey Foundation (International): “Understanding primate diet adaptations through genomics of digestive enzymes” Co-I (Mareike Janiak, PI) - 2019-2021.

The Leakey Foundation (International): “Evolution of M/L cone ratio variation” Co-I (James Higham, PI, Shoji Kawamura, Co-I) - 2019-2021.