Dr. Nina Grace Jablonski is a distinguished biological anthropologist and Evan Pugh University Professor at Pennsylvania State University, where she holds one of the highest academic honors in the institution. Born in 1953, she earned her A.B. in Biology from Bryn Mawr College in 1975 and completed her Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Washington in 1981, establishing the foundation for her remarkable career in evolutionary science. Prior to her tenure at Penn State, she held significant academic appointments at the University of Hong Kong, the University of Western Australia where she began her research on human skin color, and served as the Irvine Chair of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences from 1994 to 2006. Her career trajectory demonstrates a consistent commitment to advancing our understanding of human biological diversity through rigorous scientific inquiry.
Dr. Jablonski's pioneering research on the evolution of human skin color represents one of the most significant contributions to anthropological science in contemporary times. In 2000, she and her collaborator husband George Chaplin developed the dual cline theory, also known as the vitamin D-folate theory, which explains how human skin pigmentation evolved as an adaptive balance between protection from ultraviolet radiation and maintenance of essential vitamin synthesis across different geographical regions. This groundbreaking work has fundamentally reshaped scientific understanding of human adaptation and biological diversity, with important implications for health issues including vitamin D deficiency and folate metabolism. Her influential scholarly output includes over 200 scientific publications and seminal books such as Skin: A Natural History (2006) and Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color (2012), which have brought complex evolutionary concepts to both academic and public audiences worldwide.
Beyond her research achievements, Dr. Jablonski has emerged as a transformative leader in science communication and education, working to bridge the gap between scientific understanding of human diversity and societal perceptions of race. She currently leads innovative initiatives to improve science education in the United States, focusing on enhancing understanding of evolution and human variation while inspiring student interest in STEM disciplines. Her leadership extends to the "Effects of Race" program at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, where she convenes scholars to develop new approaches for studying race and mitigating racial discrimination. As a member of the National Academy of Sciences and recipient of numerous prestigious honors, she continues to shape both scientific discourse and public understanding of human biological diversity through her multifaceted scholarly contributions.
