Meet an Indigenous Scientist: Dr. Aviaja Lyberth Hauptmann

Dr. Aviâja Lyberth Hauptmann is an Inuk microbiologist from Greenland, specializing in Arctic foodways and microbiology. Dr. Hauptmann is an associate professor and head of department at Ilisimatusarfik – the University of Greenland, where she has developed and now leads the SILA Bachelor in Biology Program. She also holds a parttime assistant professorship at the University of Copenhagen, Globe Institute. 

She has held positions as an assistant professor at Ilisimatusarfik and as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis, where she collaborated on research and teaching around the microbial aspects of Indigenous Greenlandic fermented foods. 

Dr. Hauptmann’s work emphasizes the significance of traditional Inuit foods, particularly fermented animal-sourced items, in understanding human-microbe interactions and promoting food sovereignty. She has been an active public debater for more than a decade, currently focusing on Indigenous food systems and the role of Indigenous peoples in science. Dr. Hauptmann’s current research highlights the microbial diversity in traditional Inuit foods and Indigenous food sovereignty.