Roshna Wunderlich

Associate Professor of Biology

B.A. - University of Virginia
M.A. - State University of New York at Stony Brook
Ph.D. - State University of New York at Stony Brook

E-mail - wunderre@jmu.edu
Phone - 540-568-6930
Fax - 540-568-3333
Office - Bioscience 2016C

Office Hours

Courses:   Human Anatomy (BIO 290), Forensic Anatomy (BIO 325), Advanced Human Anatomy (BIO 410), Clinical Anatomy for Physician Assistants (BIO 413/513), Biomechanics (BIO 490)

Research Interests:  Biomechanics.  Functional morphology and biomechanics of the primate hindlimb.

I am interested in the functional morphology and biomechanics of the primate hindlimb and the processes by which animals use and adapt to different locomotor regimes and substrates. I am investigate the evolution of bipedalism, by studying the relationship between form and function in modern primate feet in order to reconstruct behavior in fossil specimens.  I also have clinical interests in diabetic foot problems and athletic footwear, particularly in understanding the etiology of plantar ulceration and overuse injuries and developing strategies for early detection and prevention.

Selected Publications:

Wunderlich, R.E., Lawler, R.R. and Williams, A^*. (2011) Field  and experimental approaches to the study of locoomotor ontogeny in Propithecus verreauxi. Primate Locomotion: Linking In Situ and Ex Situ Research, editors: K D’Août & EE Vereecke, pp. 135-153.

Brazen, D.M.^*, M.K. Todd, R.E. Wunderlich, C. Peterson, J.P. Ambegaokar. (2010) The effect of lower body fatigue on knee joint stability in collegiate athletes: A gender comparison.  Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine 20(4):286-292.

Kivell, T.L., Schmitt, D., Wunderlich, R.E. (2010) Hand and foot pressures in the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) reveal novel solutions to the problem of walking on gracile hands. Journal of Experimental Biology 213(9):1549-57.

Patel, B.A. and Wunderlich, R.E. (2010) Dynamic pressure patterns in the hands of olive baboons (Papio anubis) during terrestrial locomotion: Implications for cercopithecoid primate hand morphology. Journal of Anatomy 293(4): 710-718

Jungers, W.L., W. E. H. Harcourt-Smith, R. E. Wunderlich, M. W. Tocheri, S. G. Larson, T. Sutikna, Rhokus Awe Due & M. J. Morwood. (2009)  The foot ofHomo floriesiensis. Nature 459(7243): Pages 81-84. 

Wunderlich, R.E. and W.L. Jungers (2009) Manual pressures during knuckle-walking in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).  American Journal of Physical Anthropology 139(3): 394-403.

Jungers, W.L., W.E.H. Harcourt-Smith, R.E. Wunderlich, M.W. Tocheri, S.G. Larson, T. Sutikna, Rhokus Awe Due, and  M.J. Morwood. (2009) The foot of Homo floresiensis. Nature 459: 81-84.

Wunderlich, R.E. and J.C. Schaum. (2007) Kinematics of bipedalism in Propithecus verreauxi.  Journal of Zoology 272 (2): 165-175.

Jungers, W. L., P. Lemelin, L. R. Godfrey, R. E. Wunderlich, D. A. Burney, E. L. Simons, P. S. Chatrath, H. F. James and G. F. N. Randria (2005).  The hands and feet of Archaeolemur: metrical affinities and their functional significance. Journal of Human Evolution 49(1): 36-55.

Bus, S., Q.X. Yang, J.H. Wang, M.B. Smith, R.E. Wunderlich, P.R. Cavanagh (2002) Intrinsic muscle atrophy in the feet of people with diabetic neuropathy: An MRI study.  Diabetes Care 25(8): 1444-1450. 

Wunderlich, R.E., P.R. Cavanagh (2000).  Gender differences in adult foot shape: implications for shoe design.  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 33(4): 605-611.