Don Jeffrey "Jeff" Meldrum (born May 24, 1958) is a Full Professor of
Anatomy and
Anthropology in the Department of Biological Sciences at
Idaho State University. Meldrum is also Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy and the Department of Anthropology. Meldrum is an expert on foot morphology and locomotion in
primates
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
.
Biography
Meldrum received his
B.S. in
zoology specializing in vertebrate locomotion at
Brigham Young University in 1982, his
M.S.
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
at BYU in 1984, and a
Ph.D. in anatomical sciences, with an emphasis in
biological anthropology, from
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
in 1989. He held the position of postdoctoral visiting assistant professor at
Duke University Medical Center from 1989 to 1991. Meldrum worked at
Northwestern University's Department of Cell, Molecular and Structural Biology for a short while in 1993 before joining the faculty of
Idaho State University where he currently teaches.
Meldrum has published numerous academic papers ranging from vertebrate evolutionary morphology, the emergence of bipedal locomotion in modern humans, and the plausability behind the
Sasquatch phenomena, in addition to being a co-editor of a series of books on
paleontology. Meldrum also co-edited ''From Biped to Strider: The Emergence of Modern Human Walking'' with Charles E. Hilton.
Meldrum, who is an "active member" of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has also studied and commented upon issues of
genetics and the Book of Mormon in his book
Who Are the Children of Lehi?", written with Trent D. Stephens.
Cryptozoology
Meldrum has attracted media attention due to his interest in
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...
.
Meldrum believes that Bigfoot exists and his research on the topic has been criticized by some as
pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
.
Meldrum authored ''
Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science'' in 2006. The book was heavily criticized in a detailed review in the ''
Skeptical Inquirer''.
Anthropologist David J. Daegling commented that author was "unable or unwilling to distinguish good research from bad, science from pseudoscience" and the book failed to provide a thorough scientific analysis.
Matt Cartmill
Matthew Cartmill is an American anthropologist and professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University, where he formerly served as Chair of Anthropology.
Education and career
Cartmill was educated at Pomona Colleg ...
reviewed the book in the ''
American Journal of Physical Anthropology''.
Meldrum was present at a 2011 conference in
Siberia regarding the Siberian Snowman, which included among other things investigating alleged footprints that had been spotted in a
Kemerovo
Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka and Tom Rivers, in the major coal mining region of the Kuznetsk Ba ...
cave. He acknowledged that the results of the Russian field trip to the cave site were most likely fraudulent. He suggested that the supposed evidence found was simply an attempt by local government officials to drum up publicity.
References
External links
Meldrum's Idaho State University profileMeldrum's ResearchGate profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meldrum, Jeffrey
1958 births
Living people
American anthropologists
American Latter Day Saints
Bigfoot
Brigham Young University alumni
Cryptozoologists
Duke University faculty
Idaho State University faculty
Stony Brook University alumni
Northwestern University people