STEM Shoutout: Dr. Siobhan Mattison

Anthropology assistant professor promoted to associate professor

Dr. Siobhan Mattison, an assistant professor in the UNM Anthropology Department, has been promoted to associate professor for fall 2020.

“I am thankful for all the support I have got from Advance and from my colleagues in Anthropology. The promotion, for me, is a way to expand research and administrative projects and impact,” Mattison said.

Last July, NSF awarded Mattison a grant to research the demographic and evolutionary significance of adoption and fosterage. 

Looking forward to the next phase of her career at UNM, Mattison expects to scale up existing projects such as this one and launch new projects that involve collaborations with anthropologists, social scientists, and life scientists. She is particularly interested in convergent research that addresses pressing societal issues from multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives. 

Mattison also serves as a NSF rotator in the Cultural and Biological Anthropology Programs; she also works on the Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Program.

“One of the most exciting things is to see how NSF works via its larger-scale research funding mechanisms. It provides a lot of inspiration to think about doing big picture stuff that has relevance to  multiple communities of stakeholders,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to building on NSF’s efforts to broaden representation in STEM when I return to UNM.”

Part of Mattison’s academic journey also involves being diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular condition. She hopes to incorporate disability into her ongoing work at the UNM, including helping to create community for disabled academics.