Mark P. Mooney

Mark Mooney holds joint appointments in the Departments of Oral Medicine and Pathology, Anthropology, Surgery-Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and Orthodontics in the Schools of Dental Medicine and Medicine.

 

Research Description

Mooney is a biological anthropologist whose interests include craniofacial and developmental biology, growth and development, comparative anatomy, experimental morphology, and physiological adaptations to extreme environments.

He is concerned with helping the student understand the complex genetic and environmental factors that are involved in shaping the human face and body.

His principal field of interest is the development of various animal models to investigate the interaction of plastic surgery and congenital facial abnormalities on postnatal craniofacial growth in individuals with birth defects to the head and neck.

Courses

Biocultural Anthropology

Anthropology 0620 is an introduction to general anthropology that attempts to explore the interaction between human biology and behavior. The course considers what it means to be human by examining the biocultural interface of both present and past cultures throughout the world. Patterns of biocultural systems (for example, human adaptation to extreme environments, infant sensorimotor development and cultural and biological diversity in general) will be discussed and compared to recognized American biocultural systems. Anthropological films, slide presentations, and special guest lecturers will supplement course lectures. There are no prerequisites. The course is taught at the introductory level. Anthropology 0620 presents a broad foundation of anthropological information that equips the student to pursue additional courses in any of the four anthropological subfields. The recitation sections will be used to facilitate small group discussions of lecture topics and to introduce specific biocultural case studies by films and/or presentations. The recitation grades will be based on four short quizzes and recitation attendance. The recitation grade will have a weight of approximately 20% in the final grade.