Science Portrait: Professor Nina Jablonski

Prof. Nina Grace Jablonski, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, USA

This is a summary of the curriculum vitae (CV) of Prof. Nina Grace Jablonski, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, USA.

Professor Jablonski (Wikipedia) is a well-known evolutionary anthropologist, who has an adventurous and fulfilling career of which most scientists can only dream. As a child, she grew up on a farm in upstate New York State, where she developed her love for nature. After receiving her Bachelor degree in Biology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, she continued her studies at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington, Seattle, where she earned her Ph.D. on the study of “Functional Analysis of the Masticatory Apparatus of Theropithecus gelada” (the chewing system of the Gelada baboon). After this, she became Lecturer from 1981-1990 in Hong Kong. Here, she would not only do rather broad studies on the anatomy of primates (including humans) and other mammals, often from an evolutionary perspective, but also support the Hong Kong police with the identification of human remains. Impressively, she also learned to speak and write Mandarin Chinese (especially the writing with the many signs is a gigantic task)! At the end of her time in Hong Kong, she started focusing on the evolution of bipedalism (walking on two feet), and since then the question of human evolution has never left her work. From Hong Kong, she went to yet another part of the world, and from 1990-1994 she was a Senior Lecturer at The University of Western Australia in Perth, where the evolution of human skin would become a major focus of her work ever since. Human skin has a number of special features, nakedness the best known of them, but also pigmentation and thermoregulation, and Professor Jablonski has intensively studied the evolution of these features in monkeys and humans and has developed theories about them.

In 1994-2006, after she returned to the USA, she held the Irvine Chair of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, where she also became Head of the Department of Anthropology. She then moved to Pennsylvania State University (University Park), to which, as Emerita, she is still affiliated today as Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology, and where, in 2007-2023, she held various positions including Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Director of of the Center for Human Evolution and Diversity.

She is highly recognized as a scientist, with >200 publications that have been cited >13,000 times (h-index=55). Among these are many articles in the top journals, including in Nature (Jablonski 1993; McBrearty and Jablonski 2005; Carbone et al. 2014) and Science (Cuthill et al. 2017). An especially cool title is the one of the McBrearty and Jablonski 2005 article in Nature, saying “First fossil chimpanzee.” One of the reasons that many scientists will envy the career of Professor Jablonski is her fieldtrips to Africa to study primate evolution.

As you can see in her CV below, Professor Jablonski has received many prestigious academic honors, among which I would like to highlight her election as a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, as these Members are recognized leaders of American science.

Professor Jablonski found, together with others, that similar skin colors evolved independently in different human populations under similar solar regimes. Naturally, this questions various concepts of race, and since 2010 Professor Jablonski has used her knowledge about human diversity to be an active fighter against racism through education. So she also uses her science to make the world a better place.

She is a very pleasant and truly gifted speaker, as shown here in a TED Talk in 2009 and a presentation for the The Leakey Foundation’s Speaker Series program in 2018 (watched >638,612 times!).

Professor Jablonski was recommended as a possible speaker by Professor Shosuke Ito of Fujita Health University. It has been a pleasure preparing the seminar with her, as she is truly kind in her communication, and I am happy and honored that at Fujita such a renowned speaker will talk about such an exciting topic.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Education

1981    Ph.D., University of Washington (Anthropology); Title of dissertation: Functional
Analysis of the Masticatory Apparatus of Theropithecus gelada (Primates:
Cercopithecidae)
1978    Ph.C., University of Washington (Anthropology)
1975    A.B., Bryn Mawr College (Biology)

Current Academic Positions

• Atherton Professor, The Pennsylvania State University (University Park)
• Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology, Emerita, The Pennsylvania State University (University Park)
• Permanent Visiting Fellow, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Stellenbosch, South Africa

Previous Academic Positions

(only major positions are listed)

Major Research Interests

• Evolution of human skin and skin pigmentation
• Evolution of human hair
• History of race concepts and racism
• Public education about human evolution, human physical diversity, and racism
• Primate and human, evolution, especially in relation to environmental change

Academic Honors

2023   California Academy of Sciences, Fellows Medalist
2023   Recipient, Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania
2023   Vice President, American Philosophical Society
2021   Member, National Academy of Sciences
2019-2021   Fellow (Medical and Natural Sciences), Goodenough College, London
2019-2020   Hutchins Fellow, Hutchins Institute for African & African American Studies, Harvard
2015   Member, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2014   Permanent Visiting Fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)
2014   Named Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology at The Pennsylvania State University
2014-2015   Chair, Section H (Anthropology), American Association for the Advancement of Science
2012   John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
2011   Fellow, Royal Society of Biology (U.K.)
2010   D. Phil. (Honoris Causa), Stellenbosch University, South Africa
2010   Member-at-large for Section H (Anthropology), American Association for the Advancement of Science
2009   Member, American Philosophical Society
2007   W.W. Howells Award of the American Anthropological Association for best book in biological
anthropology for 2007 for Skin: A Natural History
2005   Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellowship
2002   Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2001-2002   President (2001-2002), Pacific Division, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1996   Fellow, California Academy of Sciences
1994   Member, Primate Specialist Group for Asia, Species Survival Commission, IUCN
1991   Honorary Researcher, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Journal Editorial Appointments

(Guest editorships are not included here)

Current:

2007 onward Guest Editor, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
2016 onward Associate Editor, Zoological Research

Past:

2015-2019 Associate Editor, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health
2014-2021 Associate Editor, Primate Biology
1999-2021 Editor and Academic Advisor, Cambridge University Press, Biological and Evolutionary
Anthropology series
2000-2020 Associate Editor, Folia Primatologica
2003 – 2005 Associate Editor, Journal of Human Evolution
1999 – 2001 Associate Editor, Journal of Human Evolution
1986-2007 Board of Reviewing Editors, Human Evolution
1988 – 1997 Editor-in-Chief, East Asian Tertiary/Quaternary Newsletter
1992 – 1994 Associate Editor, Perspectives in Human Biology
1992 – 1994 Editorial Board, Australian Primatology

Selected Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles:

• Yu, Z., Flament, F., Jiang, R., Houghton, J., Kroely, C., Cabut, N., Haykal, D., Sehgal, C., Jablonski, N. G., Jean, A., & Aarabi, P. (2024). The relevance and accuracy of an AI algorithm-based descriptor on 23 facial attributes in a diverse female US population. Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI), 30(5), e13690. https://doi.org/10.1111/srt.13690
• Oyesiku, L., Dlova, N., Ahmed, S., Owen, D. R., Ingram, J. R., Freeman, E., & Jablonski, N. G. (2024). Inclusive and equitable language for skin colour in the british journal of dermatology: Acknowledging our past and laying the foundations to move forward. British Journal of Dermatology (1951), 190(5), 605-607. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjd/ljae064
• Koch, S. L., Zaidi, A., González, T., Shriver, M. D., & Jablonski, N. G. (2024). The Trotter Collection: A review of Mildred Trotter’s hair research and an update for studies of human variation. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, e24930-e24930. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24930
• Muller, B., Flament, F., Jouni, H., Sextius, P., Tachon, R., Wang, Y., Wang, H., Qiu, H., Qiu, J., Amar, D., Delaunay, C., Jablonski, N. G., & Passeron, T. (2024). A bayesian network meta-analysis of 14 molecules inhibiting UV daylight-induced pigmentation. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.19910.
• Jablonski, N.G. (2024) Chapter 2 – Evolution of human skin pigmentation and vitamin D, In Editor(s): M. Hewison, R. Bouillon, E. Giovannucci, D. Goltzman, M. Meyer, and JoEllen Welsh, Feldman and Pike’ s Vitamin D (Fifth Edition), Academic Press, Pages 9-25, ISBN 9780323913867, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91386-7.00020-9.
• Su, D.F., Kelley, J. Flynn, L.J., Ji, X.P., Deng, C.L., Deng, T., Li, P., Li, Z., Sanders, W.J., Stidham, T.A., Sun, F., Wang, X., Wang, Y., Youlatos, D., Jablonski, N.G. (2024) Paleoecology and paleobiogeography of the latest Miocene site of Shuitangba, Zhaotong, China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Volume 641, 112112, ISSN 0031-0182, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112112.
• Frost, S. R., Jablonski, N. G., & Haile-Selassie, Y. (2023). The earliest most complete skeleton of Theropithecus. Journal of Human Evolution, 180, 103370-103370. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103370.
• Lasisi, T., Smallcombe, J. W., Kenney, W. L., Shriver, M. D., Zydney, B., Jablonski, N. G., & Havenith, G. (2023). Human scalp hair as a thermoregulatory adaptation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – PNAS,120(24), e2301760120-e2301760120. doi:10.1073/pnas.2301760120
• Flament, F., Jiang, R., Houghton, J., Zhang, Y., Kroely, C., Jablonski, N. G., . . . Passeron, T. (2023). Accuracy and clinical relevance of an automated, algorithm-based analysis of facial signs from selfie images of women in the United States of various ages, ancestries and phototypes: A cross-sectional observational study. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 37(1), 176-183. doi:10.1111/jdv.18541
• Chen, H., and Jablonski, N. G. (2022). Stay out of the sun: Exploring African American college Women’s thoughts on the dynamics between colorism and sun-related behavior. Journal of Black Psychology, 9579842211283. doi:10.1177/00957984221128374
• Chen, H., Jablonski, N. G., Chick, G., & Yarnal, C. (2022). Situating colorism in intercultural contexts: The multifaceted process of acculturation in shaping attitudes towards skin color. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 90, 142-154. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.08.001
• Wolf, S. T., Dillon, G. A., Alexander, L. M., Jablonski, N. G., & Kenney, W. L. (2022). Skin pigmentation is negatively associated with circulating vitamin D concentration and cutaneous microvascular endothelial function. American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 323(3), 490-498. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00309.2022
• Wang, X., Su, D. F., Jablonski, N. G., Ji, X., Kelley, J., Flynn, L. J., & Deng, T. (2022). Earliest giant panda false thumb suggests conflicting demands for locomotion and feeding. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 10538. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-13402-y
• Zimmerman, H. T., Weible, J. L., Wright, E. A., Vanderhoof, C., & Jablonski, N. G. (2022). Using youths’ personal DNA data in science camps: Fostering genetics learning and socio-emotional attitudes toward science with design-based research. Science Education, 106(4), 767-796. doi:10.1002/sce.21709
• Lucock, M. D., Jones, P. R., Veysey, M., Thota, R., Garg, M., Furst, J., Martin, C., Yates, Z., Scarlett, C. J., Jablonski, N. G., Chaplin, G., & Beckett, E. L. (2021). Biophysical evidence to support and extend the vitamin D-folate hypothesis as a paradigm for the evolution of human skin pigmentation. American Journal of Human Biology, 34, e23667.doi:10.1002/ajhb.23667
• Jablonski, N. G. (2021). Evolution: How to evolve a thick skin. Current Biology, 31(10), R483-R486. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.077
• Jablonski, N.G. (2021). The evolution of human skin pigmentation involved the interactions of genetic, environmental, and cultural variables. Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research, Accepted Article. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcmr.12976 PMID: 33825328.
• Jablonski, N. G. (2021). Social and affective touch in primates and its role in the evolution of social cohesion. Neuroscience, 464, 117-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.024
• Jablonski, N. G. (2021). Skin color and race. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 175(2), 437-447. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24200
• Savoldi, F., Montalvao, C., Hui, L., Leung, C.K.K., Jablonski, N.G., Tsoi, J.K.H., Bornstein, M.M. (2021) The Human Bone Collection of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong: History and description of cranial and postcranial skeletal remains. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Early View. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24273 PMID: 33772761.
• Sun, F.J., Wang, Y., Jablonski, N.G., Hou, S.K., Ji, X.P, Wolff, B., Tripati, A., Cao, J.Y., Yang, X. (2021) Paleoenvironment of the late Miocene Shuitangba hominoids from Yunnan, Southwest China: Insights from stable isotopes. Chemical Geology, 569: 120123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2021.120123
• Chen, HY., Jablonski, N.G. (2021) Deeper than the surface: Exploring symbolic cultural cues behind skin color among three groups of women of Chinese heritage. American Journal of Cultural Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41290-020-00124-9
• Koch, S. L., Liebowitz, C., Shriver, M. D., & Jablonski, N. G. (2021). Microscopical discrimination of human head hairs sharing a mitochondrial haplogroup. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 66(1), 56-71. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14560
• Wolf, S.T., Jablonski, N.G., Ferguson, S.B., Alexander, L.M., and Kenney, W.L. (2020) Four weeks of vitamin D supplementation improves nitric oxide-mediated microvascular function in college-aged African Americans. American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 319: H906–H914. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00631.2020
• Jablonski, N. G., Ji, X., Kelley, J., Flynn, L. J., Deng, C., & Su, D. F. (2020). Mesopithecus pentelicus from Zhaotong, China, the easternmost representative of a widespread Miocene cercopithecoid species. Journal of Human Evolution, 146, 102851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102851
• Khan, M. A., Kelley, J., Flynn, L. J., Babar, M. A., & Jablonski, N. G. (2020). New fossils of Mesopithecus from Hasnot, Pakistan. Journal of Human Evolution, 145, 102818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102818
• Koch, S. L., Tridico, S. R., Bernard, B. A., Shriver, M. D., & Jablonski, N. G. (2020). The biology of human hair: A multidisciplinary review. American Journal of Human Biology, 32(2), e23316. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23316
• Wolf, S. T., Jablonski, N. G., & Kenney, W. L. (2020). Examining “race” in physiology. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 319(6), H1409-H1413. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00698.2020
• Quillen, E. E., Norton, H. L., Parra, E. J. Lona-Durazo, F., Ang, K. C., Iliescu, F. M., Pearson, L. M., Shriver, M. D., Lasisi, T., Gokcumen, O., Starr, I., Lin, Y.-L., Martin, A. R., & Jablonski, N. G. (2019). Shades of complexity: New perspectives on the evolution and genetic architecture of human skin. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 168(S67), 4-26. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23737
• Sheng, G., Basler, N., Ji, X.-P., Paijmans, J. L. A., Alberti, G., Preick, M., Hartmann, S., Westbury, M. V., Yuan, J.-X., Jablonski, N. G., Xenikoudakis, G., Hou, H.-D., Xiao, B., Liu, J.-H., Hofreiter, M., Lai, X.-L., & Barlow, A. (2019). Palaeogenome reveals genetic contribution of extinct giant panda to extant populations. Current Biology, 29(10), 1695-1700.e1696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.021
• Wright, E. A., Wagner, J. K., Shriver, M. D., Fernandez, J. R., & Jablonski, N. G. (2019). Practical and ethical considerations of using personal DNA tests with middle-school-aged learners. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 104(2), 197-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.01.001
• Chen, H.-Y., Yarnal, C., Chick, G., & Jablonski, N. G. (2018). Egg white or sun-kissed: A cross-cultural exploration of skin color and women’s leisure behavior. Sex Roles, 78, 255-271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0785-4
• Geller, A. C., Jablonski, N. G, Pagoto, S. L., Hay, J. L., Hillhouse, J., Buller, D. B., Kenney, W. L., Robinson, J. K., Weller, R. B., Moreno, M. A., Gilchrest, B. A., Sinclair, C., Arndt, J., Taber, J. M., Morris, K. L. Dwyer, L. A., Perna, F. M., Klein, W. M., & Suls, J. M. (2018). Interdisciplinary perspectives on sun safety. JAMA Dermatology, 154(1), 88-92. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2661597
• Hlusko, L. J., Carlson, J. P., Chaplin, G., Elias, S. A., Hoffecker, J. F., Huffman, M., Jablonski, N. G., Monson, T. A., O’Rourke, D. H., Pilloud, M. A., & Scott, G. R. (2018). Environmental selection during the last ice age on the mother-to-infant transmission of vitamin D and fatty acids through breast milk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(19), E4426-E4432. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711788115
• Iliescu, F. M., Chaplin, G., Rai, N. Jacobs^, G. S., Basu Mallick, C., Mishra, A. Thangaraj, K., & Jablonski, N. G. (2018). The influence of genes, the environment, and social factors on the evolution of skin color diversity in India. American Journal of Human Biology, 30(5), e23170. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23170
• Jablonski, N. G. (2018). Evolution of human skin color and vitamin D. In D. Feldman (Ed.), Vitamin D (4th ed., Vol. 1: Biochemistry, Physiology and Diagnostics, pp. 29-44): Academic Press.
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2018). The roles of vitamin D and cutaneous vitamin D production in human evolution and health. International Journal of Paleopathology, 23, 54-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.01.005
• Lucock, M., Rohith, T., Garg, M., Martin, C., Jones, P., Furst, J., Yates, Z., Jablonski, N. G., Chaplin, G., Veysey, M., Sutherland, J., & Beckett, E. (2018). Vitamin D and folate: A reciprocal environmental association based on seasonality and genetic disposition. American Journal of Human Biology, 30(5), e23166. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23166
• Sheng, G. L., Barlow, A., Cooper, C., Hou, X.D., Ji, X. P, Jablonski, N. G., Zhong, B. J., Liu, H., Flynn, L. J., Yuan, J-X., Wang, L.-R., Basler, N. Hofreiter, M., & Lai, X. L. (2018). Ancient DNA from giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) of Southwestern China reveals genetic diversity loss during the Holocene. Genes, 9(4), 198. http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/4/198
• Wolf, S. T., Stanhewicz, A. E., Jablonski, N. G., & Kenney, W. L. (2018). Acute ultraviolet radiation exposure attenuates nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation in the cutaneous microvasculature of healthy humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 125(4), 1232-1237. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00501.2018
• Beckett, E., Jones, P., Veysey, Duesing, K., Martin, C., Furst, J., Yates, Z., Jablonski, N. G., Chaplin, G., & Lucock, M. (2017). VDR gene methylation as a molecular adaption to light exposure: Historic, recent and genetic influences. American Journal of Human Biology, 29(5), e23010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23010
• Cuthill, I. C, Allen, W. L., Arbuckle, K., Caspers^, B., Chaplin, G., Hauber, M. E., Hill G. E., Jablonski, N. G., Jiggins, C., Kelber, I., Mappes J., Marshall, J., Merrill, M. Osorio, D., Prum_, R., Roberts_, N. W., Roulin_, A., Rowland, H., Sherratt, T. N., Skelhorn_, J., Speed, M. P., Stevens_, M., Stoddard_, M. C., Stuart-Fox, D., Talas_, L., Tibbetts, E., & Caro, T. (2017). The biology of color. Science, 357(6350). http://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6350/eaan0221
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2017). The colours of humanity: The evolution of pigmentation in the human lineage. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 372(1724). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0349
• Lucock, M., Beckett, E., Martin, C., Jones, P. Furst, J., Yates, Z., Jablonski, N. G., Chaplin, G. & Veysey, M. (2017). UV-associated decline in systemic folate: Implications for human nutrigenetics, health, and evolutionary processes. American Journal of Human Biology, 29(2), e22929. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22929
• Bushman, B. J., Newman, K., Calvert, S. L. , Downey, G., Dredze, M., Gottfredson, M., Jablonski, N. G., Masten, A., Morrill, C., Neill, D. B., Romer, D., & Webster, D. W. (2016). Youth violence: What we know and what we need to know. American Psychologist, 71(1), 17-39. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039687
• Hubbard, T. D, Murray, I. A., Bisson, W. H. Sullivan, A. P., Sebastian, A., Perry, G. H., Jablonski, N. G., & Perdew, G. H. (2016). Divergent Ah receptor ligand selectivity during hominin evolution. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33, 2648-2658. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msw143
• Kelley, E. A., Jablonski, N. G., Chaplin, G., Sussman, R. W., & Kamilar, J. M. (2016). Behavioral thermoregulation in Lemur catta: The significance of sunning and huddling behaviors. American Journal of Primatology, 78(7), 745-754. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22538
• Coussens, A. K., Naude, C. E., Goliath, R., Chaplin, G., Wilkinson, R. J., & Jablonski, N. G. (2015). High-dose vitamin D3 reduces deficiency caused by low UVB exposure and limits HIV-1 replication in urban Southern Africans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(26), 8052-8057. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1500909112
• Chaplin, G., Jablonski, N. G., Sussman, R. W., & Kelley, E. A. (2014). The role of piloerection in primate thermoregulation. Folia Primatologica, 85(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1159/000355007
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2014). The evolution of skin pigmentation and hair texture in people of African ancestry. Dermatologic Clinics, 32(2), 113-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.det.2013.11.003
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2014). Skin cancer was not a potent selective force in the evolution of protective pigmentation in early hominins. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1789). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0517
• Jablonski, N. G., Su, D. F., Flynn, F. J., Ji, X., Deng, C., Kelley, J., Xhang, Y., Yin, J., You, Y., & Yang, X. (2014). The site of Shuitangba (Yunnan, China) preserves a unique, Terminal Miocene fauna. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 34(5), 1251-1257. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.843540
• Chaplin, G., & Jablonski, N. G. (2013). The human environment and the vitamin D compromise: Scotland as a case study in human biocultural adaptation and disease susceptibility. Human Biology, 85(4), 529-552. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/534222
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2013). Epidermal pigmentation in the human lineage is an adaptation to ultraviolet radiation. Journal of Human Evolution, 65(5), 671-675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.004
• Ji, X., Jablonski, N. G., Su, D. F., Deng, C., Flynn, L. J., You, Y., & Kelley, J. (2013). Juvenile hominoid cranium from the terminal Miocene of Yunnan, China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 58(31), 3771-3779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-6021-x
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2012). Human skin pigmentation, migration and disease susceptibility. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1590), 785-792. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0308
• Jablonski, N. G., Ji, X., Hong, L., Zheng, L., Flynn, L. J., & Li, Z. (2012). Remains of Holocene giant pandas from Jiangdong Mountain (Yunnan, China) and their relevance to the evolution of quaternary environments in south-western China. Historical Biology, 24(5), 527-536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2011.640400
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2010). Human skin pigmentation as an adaptation to UV radiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(Supplement 2), 8962-8968. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0914628107
• Jablonski, N. G., & Frost, S. (2010). Cercopithecoidea. In L. Werdelin & W. J. Sanders (Eds.), Cenozoic Mammals of Africa (pp. 393-428). Berkeley, CA: University of California.
• Chaplin, G., & Jablonski, N. G. (2009). Vitamin D and the evolution of human depigmentation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 139(4), 451-461. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.21079
• Jablonski, N. G. (2005). Primate diversity and environmental seasonality in historical perspective. In D. K. Brockman & C. P. van Schaik (Eds.), Primate Seasonality (pp. 465 – 488). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Jablonski, N. G. (2005). Primate homeland: Forests and the evolution of primates during the Tertiary and Quaternary in Asia. Anthropological Science, 113(1), 117-122. https://doi.org/10.1537/ase.04S016
• McBrearty, S., & Jablonski, N. G. (2005). First fossil chimpanzee. Nature, 437(7055), 105-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature04008
• Jablonski, N. G. (2004). The evolution of human skin and skin color. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33, 585-623. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143955
• Jablonski, N. G. (2004). The hippo’s tale: How the anatomy and physiology of Late Neogene Hexaprotodon shed light on Late Neogene environmental change. Quaternary International, 117(1), 119-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-6182(03)00121-6
• Jablonski, N. G. (2003). The evolution of the tarsiid niche. In P. C. Wright, E. L. Simons, & S. Gursky (Eds.), Tarsiers:  Past, Present, and Future (pp. 35-49). New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
• Jablonski, N. G., Ji, X., Chaplin, G., Wang, L., Yang, S., Li, G., & Li, Z. (2003). A preliminary report on new and previously known vertebrate paleontological sites in Baoshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 54(11), 209-224. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/scipubs/pdfs/v54/proccas_v54_n11.pdf
• Jablonski, N. G., Chaplin, G., & McNamara, K. J. (2002). Natural selection and the evolution of hominid patterns of growth and development. In N. Minugh-Purvis & K. J. McNamara (Eds.), Human Evolution through Developmental Change (pp. 189-206). Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Jablonski, N. G., Leakey, M. G., Kiarie, C., & Anton, M. (2002). A new skeleton of Theropithecus brumpti (Primates: Cercopithecidae) from Lomekwi, West Turkana, Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution, 43(6), 887-923. https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2002.0607
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2000). The evolution of human skin coloration. Journal of Human Evolution, 39(1), 57-106. https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2000.0403
• Jablonski, N. G., Whitfort, M. J., Roberts-Smith, N., & Xu, Q. (2000). The influence of life history and diet on the distribution of catarrhine primates during the Pleistocene in eastern Asia. Journal of Human Evolution, 39(2), 131-157. https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2000.0405
• Chaplin, G., & Jablonski, N. G. (1998). Hemispheric difference in human skin color. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 107(2), 221-224. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199810)107:2<221::AID-AJPA8>3.0.CO;2-X
• Chaplin, G., & Jablonski, N. G. (1998). The integument of the odd-nosed colobines. In N. G. Jablonski (Ed.), The Natural History of the Doucs and Snub-nosed Monkeys (pp. 79-104). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.
• Jablonski, N. G. (1998). The evolution of the doucs and snub-nosed monkeys and the question of the phyletic unity of the odd-nosed colobines. In N. G. Jablonski (Ed.), The Natural History of the Doucs and Snub-nosed Monkeys (pp. 13-52). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.
• Jablonski, N. G. (1998). The response of catarrhine primates to Pleistocene environmental fluctuations in East Asia. Primates, 39(1), 29-37. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02557741
• Jablonski, N. G. (1998). Ultraviolet light-induced neural tube defects in amphibian larvae and their impliations for the evolution of melanized pigmentation and declines in amphibian populations. Journal of Herpetology, 32(3), 455-457. https://doi.org/10.2307/1565466
• Jablonski, N. G. (1995). The phyletic position and systematics of the douc langurs of Southeast Asia. American Journal of Primatology, 35(3), 185-205. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.1350350303
• Chaplin, G., Jablonski, N. G., & Cable, N. T. (1994). Physiology, thermoregulation and bipedalism. Journal of Human Evolution, 27(6), 497-510. https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.1994.1066
• Jablonski, N. G., & Crompton, R. H. (1994). Feeding behavior, mastication, and tooth wear in the western tarsier (Tarsius bancanus). International Journal of Primatology, 15(1), 29-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02735233
• Jablonski, N. G. (1993). The evolution of the masticatory apparatus in Theropithecus. In N. G. Jablonski (Ed.), Theropithecus: The Rise and Fall of a Primate Genus (pp. 299-329). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Jablonski, N. G. (1993). The phylogeny of Theropithecus. In N. G. Jablonski (Ed.), Theropithecus: The Rise and Fall of a Primate Genus (pp. 209-224). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Jablonski, N. G. (1993). Quaternary environments and the evolution of primates in east Asia, with notes on two new specimens of fossil cercopithecidae from China. Folia Primatologica, 60(1-2), 118-132. https://doi.org/10.1159/000156681
• Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (1993). Origin of habitual terrestrial bipedalism in the ancestor of the Hominidae. Journal of Human Evolution, 24(4), 259-280. https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.1993.1021
• Jablonski, N. G., & Peng, Y.-Z. (1993). The phylogenetic relationships and classification of the doucs and snub-nosed langurs of China and Vietnam. Folia Primatologica, 60(1-2), 36-55. https://doi.org/10.1159/000156674
• Jablonski, N. G. (1992). Dental agenesis as evidence of possible genetic isolation in the colobine monkey, Rhinopithecus roxellana. Primates, 33(3), 371-376. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381198
• Jablonski, N. G. (1992). Sun, skin colour and spina bifida: An exploration of the relationship between solar ultraviolet radiation, skin colour and neural tube defects. In N. W. Bruce (Ed.), Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Human Biology (pp. 455-462). Perth: Centre for Human Biology.
• Jablonski, N. G., & Gu, Y. (1991). A reassessment of Megamacaca lantianensis, a large monkey from the Pleistocene of north-central China. Journal of Human Evolution, 20(1), 51-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2484(91)90045-W
• Jablonski, N. G., & Shum, B. S. F. (1989). Identification of unknown human remains by comparison of antemortem and postmortem radiographs. Forensic Science International, 42(3), 221-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-0738(89)90089-3
• Jablonski, N. G. (1986). The hand of Theropithecus brumpti. In J. G. Else & P. C. Lee (Eds.), Primate Evolution (Vol. Volume 1, pp. 173-182). Cambridge, UK: Cambrige University Press.
• Eck, G. G., & Jablonski, N. G. (1984). A reassessment of the taxonomic status and phyletic relationships of Papio baringensis and Papio quadratirostris (Primates: Cercopithecidae). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 65(2), 109-134. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330650204
• McKenna, J. J. I., Jablonski, N. G., & Fearnhead, R. W. (1984). A method of matching skulls with photographic portraits using landmarks and measurements of the dentition. Journal of Forensic Science, 29(3), 787-797. https://doi.org/10.1520/JFS11737J

Books:

• Chen, H.-Y. & Jablonski, N.G. (2024) The many shades of colorism in the USA: The diverse cultural origins of attitudes toward dark and tanned skin. In Hall, R. E. & Mishra, N., eds., The Routledge International Handbook of Colorism. Routledge, Oxford and New York, ISBN 9781032531649, pp. 82-100.
• Jablonski, N.G. and McGee, H.Y. (authors), and Vermeulen, K. (illustrator). (2023) It’s Just Skin, Silly! PowersSquared of Catalyst Press. ISBN-10 : 173354741X; ISBN-13 : 978-1733547413
• Jablonski, N.G. (2020) Colore Vivo: Il significato biologico e sociale del colore della pelle Italian translation. Bollati Boringhieri.
• Jablonski, N.G. (2019) Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color. Berkeley, University of California Press. Spanish translation, with printing exclusively for Cuban market.
• Magona, S. and Jablonski, N.G. (authors), and Fellman, L. (illustrator) (2018) Skin We Are In. New Africa Books.
• Jablonski, N.G. (2012)  Living Color:  The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color. Berkeley, University of California Press. (Translated into Chinese, Spanish, and Italian.)
• Jablonski, N.G. (2006) Skin:  A Natural History.  Berkeley, University of California Press.  (Translated into Korean in 2011; Chinese [simplified characters] in 2022.)