Grad Assist - Rsrch Focus (GR), Anthropology Department
Graduate Research Fellow, National Science Foundation

kaedan.obrien@anthro.utah.edu

Professional Membership

• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: Member, East African Association of Palaeoanthropology & Palaeontology, 01/2019 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: Member, Geological Society of America, 01/2019
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: Member, American Association of Biological Anthropologists, 10/2017
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: Member, Paleoanthropology Society, 01/2017

Publications

• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE | CLIMATE CHANGE: O’Brien, K., Tryon, C.A., Kimeu, B., Blegen, N., Rowan, J., & Faith, J.T. First appearance of Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), from the Middle Pleistocene Kapthurin Formation, Kenya, sheds light on the evolution and paleoecology of large zebras. Quaternary Science Reviews 256, 106835., 02/2021 KENYA

Presentations

• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K., Hebdon, N., & Faith, J.T. Is Paranthropus boisei an environmental specialist compared to early Homo? Evaluating the faunal evidence from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya. American Association of Physical Anthropologists 91st Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., 03/2022 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K., Hebdon, N., & Faith, J.T. Is Paranthropus boisei an environmental specialist compared to early Homo? Evaluating faunal evidence from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya. Paleoanthropology Society 2022 Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, U.S.A., 01/2022 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE | CLIMATE CHANGE: O’Brien, K., Irmis, R.B., Coltrain, J.B., Dalmas, D.M., Evans, T., Richards E.S., Richards, F.M., & Faith, J.T. High-elevation census of montane ecosystems: Ecological implications for Quaternary vertebrates from Boomerang Cave, Utah, U.S.A. (Virtual Presentation). Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 81st Annual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, 10/15/2021
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE | CLIMATE CHANGE: O’Brien, K., Irmis, R.B., Coltrain, J.B., Dalmas, D.M., Evans, T., Richards E.S., Richards, F.M., & Faith, J.T. Ecological Census implications, site description, and systematic paleontology of Boomerang Cave, a vertebrate assemblage in Cache County, Utah, U.S.A. (Virtual Presentation). Crossing The Palaeontological-Ecological Gap 2nd Meeting, Berlin, Germany, 09/08/2021
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K., Tryon, C.A., Blegen, N., Kimeu, B., Rowan, J., Faith, J.T. First appearance of Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), Kapthurin Formation, Kenya (Virtual Presentation). Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 80th Annual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, 10/15/2020 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K. & Faith, J.T. An evolutionary and ecological overview of Equidae from the Koobi Fora Formation Early Pleistocene record (Podium). Geological Society of America 2019 Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 09/24/2019 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K., Bui, K., Hebdon, N., & Faith, J.T. Specialization and Niche Partitioning of Homo and Paranthropus in the Early Pleistocene of East Turkana (Podium). East African Association of Palaeoanthropology & Palaeontology 7th Meeting, Nairobi, Kenya, 08/02/2019 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K., McGrosky, A., Allen, K., Biernat, M., Braun, D.R., Guerrero, A.B., Patterson, D.B., Torres, F., & Faith, J.T. Early Pleistocene grassland dynamics at East Turkana: Spatiotemporal patterns of mesic- and xeric-adapted ungulates and new insights into niche preferences of Eurygnathohippus and Kolpochoerus (Poster). Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 78th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 10/20/2018 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K., McGrosky, A., Allen, K., Anderson, L., Biernat, M.D., Braun, D.R., Guerrero, A.B., Hammond, A., Hunter, L., Seckinger, J., Torres, F., Zeller, R., Zerihun, D., & Patterson, D.B. Early Pleistocene grassland evolution at East Turkana, northern Kenya: Indications from shifting patterns of mesic and xeric adapted mammals (Podium). American Association of Physical Anthropologists 87th Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas, USA, 04/12/2018 KENYA
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: O’Brien, K., McGrosky, A., Allen, K., Anderson, L., Biernat, M.D., Braun, D.R., Guerrero, A.B., Hunter, L., Seckinger, J., Torres, F., Zeller, R., Zerihun, D., & Patterson, D.B. Early Pleistocene grassland dynamics at East Turkana: Indications from shifting patterns of mesic- and xeric-adapted ungulates and new insights into ungulate niche preference (Poster). Paleoanthropology Society 2018 Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas, USA, 04/10/2018 KENYA

Teaching

• NATURE & CULTURE | ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE | CLIMATE CHANGE | WATER: Koobi Fora Field School Paleoecology Mentoring Intern KENYA

External Service

• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: World Anthropology Day, 02/2020
• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: Darwin Day, 02/2020
• NATURE & CULTURE: Natural History Museum of Utah Behind the Scenes Weekend, 11/2019

Professional Service

• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: Peer Review, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 04/2020 ETHIOPIA

Awards

• ECOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE | CLIMATE CHANGE: Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 04/2020 KENYA