History of the Institute

The Institute of Human Biology and Evolution was established in 2020 as a consequence of the expansion of research activities carried out within the Institute of Anthropology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

The Institute of Anthropology was established in June 1987 on the basis of the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Ergonomics Research. Originally, the structure of the Institute consisted of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, the Department of Human Population Ecology, the Department of Human Developmental Biology, the Department of Ergonomics and Applied Anthropology, and the Museum and Laboratory of Osteology.

Until 1989, the Institute of Anthropology was headed by prof. Andrzej Malinowski, then by prof. Maria Danuta Kaliszewska-Drozdowska, and in 1990-2016 by prof. Janusz Piontek.

In 2003, the Institute of Anthropology left the premises, occupied for many years, at 10 Fredry Street and moved to the Morasko Campus, to the newly built Collegium Biologicum. At that time, the Institute consisted of three Departments: Department of Human Developmental Biology, Department of Human Population Ecology and Department of Human Evolutionary Biology. The Institute housed a library with about 11,000 volumes, the editorial office of the National Anthropological Journal entitled Anthropological Review. The Institute publishes a continuous publication entitled Variabillity and Evolution and a serial publication under the UAM Scientific Publishing House entitled Anthropology.

In 2016, Prof. Izabela Makalowska became director of the Institute, and established a brand-new subunit conducting research in genomics, transcriptomics, molecular biology and bioinformatics, called the Department of Integrative Genomics.

At the beginning of 2020, the Institute of Anthropology changed its name to the Institute of Human Biology and Evolution and underwent a significant structural reorganization. Nine laboratories are set apart to deal with a variety of topics centered on human evolution, demography, biology and health.

Present day in numbers