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Megan Anne Holmes

Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health
Family Medicine and Community Health, Physician Assistant Program

Overview


Dr. Holmes is a trained anatomist and evolutionary biologist. Her research focuses on feeding behavior adaptations in primate cranial and muscular morphology. Dr. Holmes' most recent research, grant funding and publications have focused specifically  on muscle fiber phenotypes in primate chewing muscles. Dr. Holmes is the Course Director and main instructor for the Physician Assistant Gross Anatomy Course and Lab. She also co-coordinates the PA Practice and the Health Systems course, pulling on her anthropological background to organize learning on health disparities. As an educator, she is passionate about making the learning environment and academia at large equitable and inclusive for her students and colleagues.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health · 2021 - Present Family Medicine and Community Health, Physician Assistant Program, Family Medicine and Community Health

Recent Publications


Ontogenetic biomechanics of tufted (Sapajus) and untufted (Cebus) capuchin mandibles.

Journal Article Am J Biol Anthropol · October 2024 OBJECTIVES: Cortical bone geometry is commonly used to investigate biomechanical properties of primate mandibles. However, the ontogeny of these properties is less understood. Here we investigate changes in cortical bone cross-sectional properties througho ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ontogenetic changes in jaw leverage and skull shape in tufted and untufted capuchins.

Journal Article J Morphol · May 2024 The ontogeny of feeding is characterized by shifting functional demands concurrent with changes in craniofacial anatomy; relationships between these factors will look different in primates with disparate feeding behaviors during development. This study exa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ontogenetic changes in bite force and gape in tufted capuchins.

Journal Article J Exp Biol · August 1, 2023 Bite force and gape are two important performance metrics of the feeding system, and these metrics are inversely related for a given muscle size because of fundamental constraints in sarcomere length-tension relationships. How these competing performance m ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Collaborative Research: Feeding ontogeny at the interface of behavior and morphology

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2020 - 2025

Function and Evolution of Jaw-Muscle Fiber Type in Primates

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Touro University · 2016 - 2022

An Anatomic and Radiologic Study to Define the Source and Course of the Articular Branches to the Thoracic Zygapophysial Joints

ResearchLab Research Analyst I · Awarded by Spine Intervention Society · 2017 - 2017

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Education, Training & Certifications


Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine · 2015 Ph.D.