Robin Nelson, an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, has been selected at the winner of the 2024 Robert W. Sussman Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Nelson is being recognized for “her outstanding contributions to understanding human relationships and their evolutionary impact.”
Dr. Nelson is a biocultural biological anthropologist whose work explores the relationship between social and kin networks and individual health outcomes. She is currently developing a project exploring experiences of social support, psychosocial stress, adult health and child growth and development in Black populations in the greater Toronto area.
“I am deeply honored to receive this award,” Dr. Nelson said. “In academe, we are often working away on a set of research questions without any expectation of reward or even acknowledgment. We pursue our areas of inquiry because they are theoretically or methodologically intriguing. To have one’s peers acknowledge this effort is incredibly rewarding and humbling. Truthfully, it inspires me to redouble my efforts exploring questions of human behavior, sociality, and health.”
Dr. Nelson joined the faculty at Arizona State University in 2021. Previously, she taught at Santa Clara University in California, Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and the University of California, Riverside.
Dr. Nelson is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in anthropology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Michigan.