Don Jeffrey "Jeff" Meldrum (born May 24, 1958) is a Full Professor of

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

in the Department of Biological Sciences at

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

. 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 is an order of mammals, which is further divided into the strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorisids; and the haplorhines, which include tarsiers and simians ( monkeys and apes). Primates arose 74–63 ...

Biography

Meldrum received his B.S. in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

specializing in vertebrate locomotion at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in 1982, and his

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

at BYU in 1984. In 1989, he completed a Ph.D. at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

in anatomical sciences, with an emphasis in

biological anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a natural science discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly fro ...

, with

John G. Fleagle John G. Fleagle is an American anthropologist, primatologist, and Distinguished Professor at State University of New York, Stony Brook. Education He graduated from Yale University ''cum laude'' in 1971, and from Harvard University with a M.S. in ...

as his doctoral advisor. He held the position of postdoctoral visiting assistant professor at

Duke University Medical Center Duke University Hospital is a 1062 -bed acute care facility and an academic tertiary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1930, it is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health Sy ...

from 1989 to 1991. Meldrum worked at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

's Department of Cell, Molecular and Structural Biology for a short while in 1993 before joining the faculty of

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 plausibility behind the

Sasquatch Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

phenomena, in addition to being a co-editor of a series of books on

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

. 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 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...

, has also studied and commented upon issues of

genetics and the Book of Mormon The relationship between genetics and the Book of Mormon is based on implicit claims in the Book of Mormon about the ancestry of indigenous American peoples, which can be evaluated through genetic research. The Book of Mormon claims that the anc ...

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 large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

. 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 cl ...

. Meldrum authored '' Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science'' in 2006. The book was heavily criticized in a detailed review in the ''

Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating clai ...

''. 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 Colle ...

reviewed the book in the ''

American Journal of Physical Anthropology The ''American Journal of Biological Anthropology''Info pages about the renaming are: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/26927691/homepage/productinformation.html and https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26927691 (previously known as ...

''. Meldrum was present at a 2011 conference in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

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 types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka River, Iskitimka and Tom ...

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 profile

Meldrum'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 faculty

Biography

Cryptozoology

See also

References

External links