Professor of Anthropology Maryellen Ruvolo specializes in the analysis of human and primate family trees using DNA data, a subfield of molecular evolution.

If you want to know about Maryellen Ruvolo's family tree, set aside a little extra time -- she can probably trace it back to when her ancestors were still swinging from it.

Ruvolo, a professor of anthropology, specializes in the analysis of human and primate family trees using DNA data, a subfield of molecular evolution. She is probably best known for her work showing that people are more closely related to chimpanzees than to gorillas, contrary to previous thinking.

She has also worked on the search for humankind's common roots, the ancestral Eve, whom most anthropologists now believe lived in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Ruvolo's most recent research involves the analysis of the AIDS virus in chimpanzees who become infected with the virus but who do not develop the disease's deadly symptoms. She is also continuing her work on the primate family tree, focusing her efforts on the expansion of the New World monkeys, found in South America, and of Old World monkeys, found in Africa and Asia.

"There are still many mysteries which we need to solve about the tempo and mode of evolution," Ruvolo said. "Molecular evolution is one exciting new tool for examining these."

Ruvolo is described as "wonderfully lucid," and "unself-conscious and enthusiastic" by colleague Richard Wrangham, professor of anthropology and curator of primate behavioral biology in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Wrangham said Ruvolo played an important role in the discussion about initial evidence that chimpanzees and humans were each others' closest relatives. He said her analyses of the evidence showed there was an extremely low probability that the conclusion was wrong.

"Maryellen emerged as a judicious arbiter. More than anyone, she convinced the swing vote," Wrangham said. "Her success came from her combination of mathematical skills, genetics expertise, and ability to think big."

Love of Physics

Ruvolo wasn't always interested in anthropology. In fact, when she was growing up in Bay Shore, N.Y., on Long Island, her first love was physics.

"I think I owned every free brochure the Atomic Energy Commission ever put out," Ruvolo said.

During her high school years, her interest in physics led to an interest in mathematics. She said a high school biology teacher, who did little more than show movies of the tuna fishing industry, made her hate that subject.

All of which helps explain why Ruvolo decided to study mathematics as a Harvard undergraduate. She received her A.B. in mathematics from Radcliffe College in 1974. She planned to seek a doctorate, but a funny thing happened on the way to graduate school. Ruvolo recalls receiving a reply to a graduate school application that warned her that even a Ph.D. in mathematics wouldn't assure her a job.

That got her thinking about alternative fields. She was interested in evolution and genetics and had enjoyed an anthropology course taught by Irven DeVore, the Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology. After some investigation and lots more education, she received her doctorate in anthropology from Harvard in 1983.

"If you talk to most people, there's a degree of serendipity in how they got into their fields," Ruvolo said.

Ruvolo obviously loves her subject matter. When asked about the nuances of a research topic, she is quick to grab a marker and head to a nearby white board, or to sketch hasty diagrams on a sheet of paper. She talks quickly, racing back and forth through time, illustrating ideas as she goes, her tone revealing a a deep excitement about her subject.

"When I got into graduate school, I thought I'd be doing mathematical models of genetics, but I found that the biology of the subject is more interesting to me," Ruvolo said.

Ruvolo has spent much of her career in and around Harvard. After receiving her A.B. in 1974, she went on to graduate study here, gaining a Ph.D. in anthropology in 1983.

Her family life also has Harvard roots in the form of husband David Pilbeam, the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences.

Ruvolo has worked at a variety of research posts: as a collaborative scientist at the New England Regional Primate Research Center from 1979 to 1982; as a research fellow in Biological Chemistry at the Harvard Medical School and in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, from 1983 to 1988; and as a research associate in population genetics at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology from 1988 to 1989.

Ruvolo's teaching career also began at Harvard, as an instructor in anthropology in 1982. She was named an assistant professor in 1990, an associate professor in 1993, and a professor of anthropology in 1997.

Ruvolo said she enjoys working with students, particularly the graduate students and undergraduates who work in her lab. Some of them are going on to medical school, she said, and she believes they can pick up an important perspective about genetic diseases and abnormalities by taking the long view of human evolution.

Wrangham said Ruvolo takes her students seriously and gives them the same respect she would a colleague.

"She's a respecter of minds, not status," Wrangham said.

Ruvolo is currently trying to spark interest in a human evolutionary genome project, where researchers decode the DNA of gorillas, chimpanzees, and other primates. Where and how humans differ genetically from their closest relatives could prove as valuable as decoding the human genetic code, she said.

"It might lead to the genetic basis for things like walking upright or for language," Ruvolo said. "New discoveries in human genetics and molecular evolution are coming out every day. That's what I love about this field."