Meredith F. Small, professor of anthropology at Cornell University, is the recipient of the 2005 Anthropology in Media Award from the American Anthropology Association (AAA) for "the successful communication of anthropology to the general public through the media" and for her "broad and sustained public impact at local, national and international levels."

Small, who trained as a primatologist, received her award at the annual meeting of the AAA in November in Washington, D.C. She was recognized by the president of AAA as "one of anthropology's treasures" and for her many publications for the general public, including more than three dozen articles in such magazines as Discover, Natural History, Scientific American and New Scientist, on a wide range of topics, from chimpanzee hunting to family structure among the Bari of Venezuela. She also is the author of four books, including "Kids: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Raise Our Children," "Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent," "What's Love Got to Do With It? The Evolution of Human Mating" and "Female Choices: Sexual Behavior of Female Primates." In addition, she is a commentator for National Public Radio.

Small has focused her anthropological research in the study of parents, children and childrearing in other cultures as well as female social behavior and rank, sexuality, mate choice and reproduction. She is interested in the intersection of biology and culture and the evolution of human behavior and parenting styles. Her latest book, "The Culture of Our Discontent: Beyond the Medical Model of Mental Illness," is due out next fall.