I investigate processes and mechanisms involved in the origin and maintenance of primate diversity, focusing on fundamental questions in Evolutionary Biology and Biological Anthropology. Some of these questions include: What caused the divergence of populations during the evolution of present-day primate species? What factors currently affect the distribution of genetic variation within populations? How and why do species maintain their identity in the face of gene flow? Does genomic exchange through hybridization benefit or threaten species persistence and why? To address these questions, I study the diversity of primates in the Americas (i.e., platyrrhines) and use my research to draw conclusions that are broadly applicable to understanding human and nonhuman primate evolution. My laboratory focuses on two main lines of research. First, we study how geography, ecology, and evolutionary history shape primate diversity in space and time. This approach relies on phylogenetic, biogeographic, and population genetic analyses. Second, we examine genomic admixture in a natural hybrid zone between two species of howler monkeys in Mexico, identifying which parts of the genome are associated with the delimitation and maintenance of species boundaries and the exchange of potentially adaptive genetic variation. We also assess how genetic admixture influences hybrid phenotypes, and in turn, how these phenotypes may play a role in shaping hybrid zone dynamics. My research is highly interdisciplinary, combining field and laboratory components and integrating genetics/genomics, social behavior, ecology, and morphology through collaborations within and beyond the University of Michigan. Throughout my career I have also committed to primate conservation and emphasized the use of genetic data to inform conservation assessments of primate populations.