Nina Jablonski

Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology

Nina Jablonski

Research Summary

Evolutionary history of Old World primates, including humans. Evolution of human skin and skin pigmentation, and the relationship between skin pigmentation and vitamin D production.

Links

Most Recent Publications

Distribution of variants in multiple vitamin D-related loci (DHCR7/NADSYN1, GC, CYP2R1, CYP11A1, CYP24A1, VDR, RXRα and RXRγ) vary between European, East-Asian and Sub-Saharan African-ancestry populations

Patrice Jones, Mark Lucock, G Chaplin, Nina Jablonski, Martin Veysey, Christopher Scarlett, Emma Beckett, Genes and Nutrition

Caught between “Light skin is beautiful and tanned skin is attractive”: How bicultural socialization shapes attitudes toward skin color aesthetics

Hsin Chen, Nina Jablonski, G Chick, C Yarnal, Asian American Journal of Psychology on p. 326–340

Exploring the role of acculturation in attitudes toward skin color aesthetics and associated behaviors

Hsin-Yu Chen, Nina Jablonski, G Chick, C Yarnal,

Skin cancer, photoprotection and skin of color

Ophelia Dadzie, Nina Jablonski, Mahendra Mahalingam, Alain Dupuy, Antoine Petit, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology on p. 2

Youths learning with a genetics and genealogy approach: Scientific and personal engagement in summer camp

H Zimmerman, J.L. Weible, Elizabeth Wright, C. Maggiore, Nina Jablonski,

Examining colorism and associated behaviors among African-American female college students

Hsin-Yu Chen, G Chick, C Yarnal, Nina Jablonski,

Evolution of the human Ah receptor conferred desensitization to smoke-derived toxicants

G Perdew, Nina Jablonski, Molecular Biology and Evolution on p. 2648-58

New materials of the Late Miocene Muntiacus from Zhaotong hominoid site in southern China

Wei Dong, Nina Jablonski, Denise Su, W.Q. Liu, Vertebrata PalAsiatica

Tapirus yunnanensis from Shuitangba, a terminal Miocene hominoid site in Zhaotong, Yunnan Province of China

Xueping Ji, Haowen Tong, Nina Jablonski, Denise Su, J.O.R. Ebbestad, C.W. Liu, T.S. Yu, Vertebrata PalAsiatica

Skin color: A function of sun

Nina Jablonski, on p. 2

Most-Cited Papers

The biology of color

Innes C. Cuthill, William L. Allen, Kevin Arbuckle, Barbara Caspers, George Chaplin, Mark E. Hauber, Geoffrey E. Hill, Nina G. Jablonski, Chris D. Jiggins, Almut Kelber, Johanna Mappes, Justin Marshall, Richard Merrill, Daniel Osorio, Richard Prum, Nicholas W. Roberts, Alexandre Roulin, Hannah M. Rowland, Thomas N. Sherratt, John Skelhorn, Michael P. Speed, Martin Stevens, Mary Caswell Stoddard, Devi Stuart-Fox, Laszlo Talas, Elizabeth Tibbetts, Tim Caro, 2017, Science

Sunscreen photoprotection and vitamin D status

T. Passeron, R. Bouillon, V. Callender, T. Cestari, T. L. Diepgen, A. C. Green, J. C. van der Pols, B. A. Bernard, F. Ly, F. Bernerd, L. Marrot, M. Nielsen, M. Verschoore, N. G. Jablonski, A. R. Young, 2019, British Journal of Dermatology on p. 916-931

Youth Violence: What We Know and What We Need to Know

Brad J. Bushman, Katherine Newman, Sandra L. Calvert, Geraldine Downey, Mark Dredze, Michael Gottfredson, Nina G. Jablonski, Ann S. Masten, Calvin Morrill, Daniel B. Neill, Daniel Romer, Daniel W. Webster, 2016, American Psychologist on p. 17-39

Sexual selection on male vocal fundamental frequency in humans and other anthropoids

David A. Puts, Alexander K. Hill, Drew H. Bailey, Robert S. Walker, Drew Rendall, John R. Wheatley, Lisa L.M. Welling, Khytam Dawood, Rodrigo Cárdenas, Robert P. Burriss, Nina G. Jablonski, Mark D. Shriver, Daniel Weiss, Adriano R. Lameira, Coren L. Apicella, Michael J. Owren, Claudia Barelli, Mary E. Glenn, Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez, 2016, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences on p. 20152830

The colours of humanity: The evolution of pigmentation in the human lineage

Nina G. Jablonski, George Chaplin, 2017, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Environmental selection during the last ice age on the mother-to-infant transmission of vitamin D and fatty acids through breast milk

Leslea J. Hlusko, Joshua P. Carlson, George Chaplin, Scott A. Elias, John F. Hoffecker, Michaela Huffman, Nina G. Jablonski, Tesla A. Monson, Dennis H. O’Rourke, Marin A. Pilloud, G. Richard Scott, 2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. E4426-E4432

Skin color and race

Nina G. Jablonski, 2020, American Journal of Physical Anthropology

Social and affective touch in primates and its role in the evolution of social cohesion

Nina G. Jablonski, 2020, Neuroscience on p. 9 pages

Divergent Ah Receptor Ligand Selectivity during Hominin Evolution

Troy D. Hubbard, Iain A. Murray, William H. Bisson, Alexis P. Sullivan, Aswathy Sebastian, George H. Perry, Nina G. Jablonski, Gary H. Perdew, 2016, Molecular Biology and Evolution on p. 2648-2658

The evolution of human skin pigmentation involved the interactions of genetic, environmental, and cultural variables

Nina G. Jablonski, 2021, Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research on p. 60 pages

News Articles Featuring Nina Jablonski

Feb 27, 2025

New study reveals most Europeans had dark skin over 3,000 years ago

Paleobiologist Nina Jablonski, an anthropologist at Pennsylvania State University, says that "Most hunter-gatherers apparently got enough vitamin D from food in the past."

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Jan 31, 2025

Anthropologist Nina Jablonski to deliver 2025 Darwin Day Lecture

Nina Jablonski, Atherton Professor and Evan Pugh University Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Penn State, will deliver a lecture titled “The Skin in the Game of Evolution: How Human Skin Illustrates Darwinian Evolution and Much More” as part of this year’s annual Darwin Day celebration.

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Jan 24, 2025

Scientists have uncovered a 'simple' way to cure hair loss

Researchers say the secret to why humans grow such long scalp hair is a hidden 'molecular switch'.

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Jan 23, 2025

Mane attraction: Molecular ‘switch’ may control long scalp hair

Treating hair loss may be as simple as developing therapies to flip a molecular “switch,” according to a new study by researchers from Penn State; the University of California, Irvine; and National Taiwan University.

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Jan 23, 2025

Mane attraction: Molecular ‘switch’ may control long scalp hair

Treating hair loss may be as simple as developing therapies to flip a molecular “switch,” according to a new study by researchers from Penn State; the University of California, Irvine; and National Taiwan University.

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Apr 06, 2024

Finding our family’s roots through the ‘sepia rainbow’

Skin color can help identify where ancestors are from

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Mar 03, 2024

Radio clip from KUER 90.1, NPR Utah - Mar 3, 2024

This National Public Radio segment features an interview with Nina Jablonski, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

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Dec 31, 2023

Radio clip from WESA-FM

This Pittsburgh-based National Public Radio segment quotes Nina Jablonski, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, and was aired by nearly 50 local stations across the country

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Sep 30, 2023

The science of skin: everything you need to know about your body’s biggest organ – and how to protect it

Skin and the history and science behind it

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Sep 06, 2023

How Europeans' White Skin Changed Over Time: According To A Study, Pale Skin Only Became Widespread In The Area 8,000 Years Ago

Anthropology studies indicate genetic features are relatively recent additions to the continent

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Jul 31, 2023

Anthropology faculty member Nina Jablonski named Atherton Professor

Following a highly distinguished 17 years in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology Nina G. Jablonski has been named an Atherton Professor.

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Jun 07, 2023

How curly hair boosted brain growth by keeping early humans cool

With summer heat steaming up many parts of the country, you may have already turned on your air conditioner. Try plugging in a curling iron, too.

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Jun 07, 2023

Life before air conditioning: Curly hair kept early humans cool

Curly hair does more than simply look good — it may explain how early humans stayed cool while conserving water, according to researchers who studied the role human hair textures play in regulating body temperature.

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Feb 20, 2023

Podcast explores the genetics of personality through the lens of adoption

Social scientists have long sought to better understand how and why different behavioral traits develop in different individuals.

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Nov 07, 2022

Center for Human Evolution and Diversity accepting grant applications

The Center for Human Evolution and Diversity at Penn State (CHED) is currently accepting proposals for grants available from the center for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.

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Oct 06, 2022

How our relationship with our skin has changed dramatically over time

Today, we think of our skin as somewhat fragile — we douse it with creams, we’re sure to put on sunscreen before we go outside for long. But it wasn’t always that way. Nina Jablonski is a biological anthropologist at Penn State University who studies the history of skin and our relationship to it.

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Sep 29, 2022

Tina Lasisi wants to untangle the evolution of human hair

Though humans’ nearly hairless bodies stick out like a cowlick among other primates, our nakedness isn’t unique in the world of mammals. Dolphins and whales are naked, says biological anthropologist Tina Lasisi of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. There are naked mole-rats. “Elephants, depending on how you look at them, are kind of naked,” she says. “But we’re the only weirdos that are naked except for our head.”

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Sep 06, 2022

Human skin stood up better to the sun before there were sunscreens and parasols – an anthropologist explains why

Human beings have a conflicted relationship with the sun. People love sunshine, but then get hot. Sweat gets in your eyes. Then there are all the protective rituals: the sunscreen, the hats, the sunglasses. If you stay out too long or haven’t taken sufficient precautions, your skin lets us you know with an angry sunburn. First the heat, then the pain, then the remorse.

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Jan 16, 2022

Skin colour as a weapon of mass destruction

Skin colour, race, is a topic, like religion and politics, that evokes strong emotional feeling, passion. Many would prefer that it were not touched, discussed, or debated, treated as taboo, as if we suddenly became colour blind.

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Sep 01, 2021

There’s No Proof Sunscreen Prevents Cancer in Black People. Why Do Doctors Keep Pushing It?

Meet the renegade dermatologist determined to correct race-based misinformation on melanoma.

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Aug 26, 2021

The Story of an African Children’s Book That Explains the Science of Skin Colour

We all need to forgive ourselves and one another

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May 17, 2021

Why Aren't There Mammals in Super Vivid Colors Like There Are Birds and Bugs?

Plumage. An incredible world, for an incredible phenomenon. Say it with me now: plumage. Picture the colors, their variety and richness. Picture, while you’re at it, some other stuff relevant to this week’s Giz Asks, such as bugs that look shaped from stained glass and sea creatures that look like they’ve been doused in neon paint.

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May 04, 2021

Three Penn State faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences

Nina Jablonski, Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology; Jainendra K. Jain, Evan Pugh University Professor and Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics; and Peter Mészáros, Eberly Chair Professor, emeritus, of Astronomy and Astrophysics, have been recognized for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

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Oct 15, 2020

Skin Colour, Vitamin D Deficits and Disease Risks

Deficiency has been associated with multiple sclerosis and even COVID-19.

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Oct 13, 2020

Monkey fossils unearthed in China date back 6.4 MILLION years and are the oldest to be found outside of Africa

Small fossils have been unearthed in China that belonged to a monkey about 6.4 million years ago. The remains were found a southeastern Yunan Province mine, making them the oldest to be found outside of Africa. Researchers from Penn State University have obtained a heelbone and jawbone with teeth that are believed to have been a female.

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