Dr. Melanie Chang is a paleoanthropologist whose primary scientific interests are later human evolution (Neandertals and modern humans), feminist archaeology, science communication, and the role of reflexivity in human evolutionary studies. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual PhD in anthropology and biology, completed a postdoc in behavioral genetics at UCSF, and has pursued research in Western Eurasia, the Middle East, and North Africa. She has taught classes in skeletal anatomy, archaeology, and human evolution at the University of Victoria and Portland State University since 2012.

An enthusiastic proponent of science education and public outreach, Melanie is a TEDx speaker and has been featured in a number of documentary series, including Human: The World Within (2021). In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family, playing with her dogs, horseback riding, and pretty much anything having to do with K-pop.