Join the lab

Welcome to the place where we study what we love most, in the most irreverent manner possible!

We ask big-picture questions, push the boundaries of what we and our fields know, and are passionate about developing new ways of seeking answers.

We work at the cutting edge of quantitative evolutionary modelling, and have a dedicated computer lab available for graduate and postdoctoral lab members. But that’s not all: that quantitative data doesn’t come from nowhere. We are also active field workers: we study chimpanzees (and other amazing fauna!) at our study site in the Nimba Mountains, and stay tuned for exciting news about paleoanthropological fieldwork.

We are principally based in the Anthropology Department at Emory University, but have formal affiliations with the APE Lab at the University of Zürich (and stay tuned for a second affiliation coming soon), which means we can support researchers in the US and Europe.

Our lab brings together researchers from very different backgrounds - both academic and cultural - and that is what makes it an exciting place to be.

If this sounds like you, check out ways to join the lab below:

Current opportunities 2026-2027

Postdoctoral fellows

The lab currently has space and facilities for 2 postdoctoral fellows.

Please get in touch directly regarding potential postdoctoral opportunities. I do not currently have open fully-funded postdoctoral positions available, but look forward to supporting and advising on applications to postdoctoral funding opportunities in the US and Europe.

More details:

We welcome high-achieving students seeking a rigorous research environment. Excellent collaborative, independent working, and time management skills are essential.

If interested in palaeoanthropological work, previous palaeoanthropological field and/or digital data experience is required, and preference will be given to applicants that have experience with any of the following: biogeographic modelling; comparative anatomy; virtual anthropology; niche modelling.

If interested in my work on extant apes, previous primate fieldwork or behavioural coding is required.

Applicants should hold an M.Sc./M.A. degree in Biology or Evolutionary Anthropology, or, in rare cases, be able to demonstrate exceptional research potential.

Please reach out to Dr Laura van Holstein by October 31st, 2026, with

(1) an up-to-date CV
(2) contact details of 2 referees, and
(3) a brief outline of your motivation and research interests.

I am more than happy to help guide you through the Emory application process, and look forward to hearing from you!

PhD

I am currently offering 1-2 fully funded 5-year PhD positions in the Anthropology Department at Emory University.

I am looking, in particular, for scholars interested in (1) interspecific competition in human evolution, (2) the macroevolutionary consequences of tool use, or (3) the comparative cognition and/or cultural basis of primate crab-fishing.

Undergraduate

For Emory students: check out ForagerOne to see if I’m currently advertising research positions in my lab, or reach out to me directly. A few things to keep in mind if you reach out directly:

  • Undergraduate research opportunities in HOL are very independent. You must have demonstrable familiarity with the basics of subject material (e.g., through having taken ANT307 or Dr. Saers’ comparative anatomy class if interested in human evolutionary research).

  • Demonstrable experience with statistics is highly desirable

  • Training new researchers takes a lot of time: for this reason, you must be able to commit to a year or more, and must be able to start your position no later than October 2026.

For non-Emory students: I am currently unable to offer research opportunities to students from other universities.