PERSONAL INFORMATION
Family name, First name: Benazzi, Stefano
Date of birth: 11/08/1977
Nationality: Italian
Researcher unique identifier: ORCID= 0000-0003-4305-6920
Principal Investigator ERC SyG n. 101118565– LAST NEANDERTHALS
Secondary Beneficiary ERC AdG n. 101019659- FIRSTSTEPS
Principal Investigator ERC CoG n.724046 – SUCCESS
CURRENT POSITION
09/2017 Full Professor, Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Italy
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
03/2017-08/2017 Associate Professor, Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Italy
03/2014-02/2017 Senior Lecturer (RTD-b), Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Italy
2012-2014 Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany
2009-2012 Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
2008-2009 Post-doctoral Marie Curie Fellow (EVAN: European Virtual Anthropology Network), Department of Palaeoanthropology and Messel Research, Senckenberg Research Institute, Germany
EDUCATION
4/5/2007: PhD at the Department of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Italy. Thesis title: “Image analysis in the morphological and morphometric study of teeth”.
3/12/2002: Master in “Conservation of Cultural Heritage” (110 cum laude and dignity of printing), Archaeological field, with a palaeoanthropological dissertation in the morphological description and morphometric analysis of Italian Neandertal teeth (University of Bologna).
COMMISSIONS OF TRUST
2022- Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National PhD programme in “Heritage Science”, University of Roma La Sapienza
2018- Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the PhD programme in “Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Campus of Ravenna, University of Bologna
2018-2022 Coordinator of the PhD programme in Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Campus of Ravenna, University of Bologna
2015-2021 Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the PhD programme in “Cultural Heritage Studies”, Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Italy
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
2014- Course of Paleoanthropology (First cycle degree programme in Cultural Heritage, Università di Bologna); Courses of Osteoarchaeology (Second cycle degree programme in History, preservation and enhancement of artistic and archaeological heritage and landscape, Università di Bologna)
2017-2020 Course of Anthropology and Biology Applied to Cultural Heritage (Single cycle degree programme in Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage);
2018- Courses of Enhancement of Anthropological Heritage using 3D technology (Second cycle degree programme in History, preservation and enhancement of artistic and archaeological heritage and landscape, Università di Bologna);
2018- Course of Biology for Bioarchaeological Materials and Cultural Heritage (Second cycle degree programme in Science for the conservation - restoration of cultural heritage, University of Bologna).
SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
2022- Co-Director of the archaeological excavation at the funerary site of Halban (Halban, Muscat, Oman)
2020- Director of the archaeological excavation at Grotta della Lea (Nardò, Puglia, Italy)
2018 Director of the archaeological excavation at Grotta Santa Maria (Marina di Camerota Campania, Italy)
2016- Director of the Laboratory of Osteoarchaeology and Paleoanthropology (BONES Lab), Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna
2016- Co-director of the archaeological excavation at Grotta di Uluzzo-C (Nardò, Apulia, Italy), in collaboration with Prof. Enza Spinapolice;
2015- Co-director of the archaeological excavation at Grotta di Arma Veirana (Erli, Liguria, Italy), in collaboration with Dr. Fabio Negrino.
ACADEMIC AWARDS
2006 Best oral presentation, European Anthropological Association, Budapest (Hungary), 31 August – 3 September 2006.
MEMBERSHIPS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES
2017- Member ISIPU - Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana
2017- Member AAI - Associazione Antropologica Italiana
2015- Member ESHE - European Society for the study of Human Evolution [http://www.eshe.eu/]
GRANTS AWARDED
As Principal Investigator:
- Project Title: The physical, cultural, and bio-genetic landscape of the last Neanderthals. Funding source: ERC SYNERGY GRANT 2023 (grant agreement n. 101118565 – LAST NEANDERTHALS). Amount: €12,920,328. Period: from 01-06-2024 to 31-05-2030
- Project Title: Tracing early Homo sapiens in Italy – TRACE. Funding source: PRIN 2022 (MUR). Amount: €205,728. Period: from 5-10-2023 to 4-10-2025
- Project Title: L’infanzia e la pandemia: analisi antropologica degli infanti del Lazzaretto Vecchio di Venezia. Fonte di finanziamento: Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna (Italy). Amount: €13,000. Period: from 1-11-2021 to 31-10-2022
- Project Title: Using paleoproteomics to identify human remains in Italian archaeological sites with Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic deposits. Funding source: Grant FARE 2018 - Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), Italy. Amount: €175,666. Period: from 01-06-2020 to 31-05-2023
- Project Title: The earliest migration of Homo sapiens in southern Europe: understanding the biocultural processes that define our uniqueness. Funding source: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANT (grant agreement n. 724046 - SUCCESS). Amount: €1,993,811. Period: from 01-05-2017 to 30-04-2022
- Project Title: Functional morphology of mandibular post-canine teeth in modern human and hominoids derived from Finite Element Analyses (FEA). Funding source: “Rita Levi Montalcini Programme” awarded in Italy by the Ministry of Education. Amount (Euros): €199,916. Period: from 01-03-2014 to 28-3-2017
- Project Title: Infectious diseases in the Emilia-Romagna region from ancient times to present day: the evolution of pathogens, immune response and modern implications. Funding source: Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna (Italy). Amount: €43,000. Period: from 30-09-2014 to 30-09-2016
In charge of a research unit:
- Project Title: From foraging to farming. Human adaptations during major transitions. Funding source: Australian Research Council (PROJECT ID: DP240101081). Amount (Euros): €431,000. Period: from 01-06-2024 to 31-05-2027
- Project Title: Our first steps to Europe: Pleistocene Homo sapiens dispersals, adaptations and interactions in South-East Europe. Funding source: European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement n. 101019659- FIRSTSTEPS). Total amount: €3,306,062; Amount Benazzi: €722,500. Period: from 01-04-2022 to 31-03-2027.
- Project Title: Integrating Neandertal Legacy: From Past to Present (iNEAL) - COST Action (proposal OC-2019-1-24161; action CA19141). Funding source: European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). Period: from 2020 to 2024.
- Project Title: Prehistoric hunter-gatherers in Istria and adjacent regions: patterns of Late Pleistocene lifestyle and mobility (PREHISTRIA). Funding source: Croatian Science Foundation - HRZZ Research Projects (IP-2019-04-7821). Amount (Euros): €78,000. Period: from 2020 to 2024
- Project Title: A real-time biomechanical study of Neanderthal anterior dentition. Funding source: Australian Research Council (PROJECT ID: DP190100465). Amount (Euros): €151,450. Period: from 01-09-2019 to 31-08-2021
- Project Title: Reconstructing prehistoric (Neolithic to Bronze Age) lifestyles on the territory of Croatia: a multidisciplinary approach (PASTLIVES). Funding source: Croatian Science Foundation - HRZZ Research Projects (IP-06-2016). Amount (Euros): €79,000. Period: from 2016 to 2020
- Project Title: Rediscovering the Uluzzian in Italy. Funding source: Leakey Foundation. Amount (Euros): €20,000. Period: from 01-05-2015 to 31-12-2016
- Project Title: Understanding the evolution of human diet through digital anatomy and dental biomechanics. Funding source: Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Strategic Grant Scheme 2016 (Monash, Australia). Amount (Euros): €31,695. Period: from 01-01-2016 to 31-12-2016
