Greetings!
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at James Madison University. My research foci include bioarchaeology, paleoepidemiology, and paleopathology. My research uses data collected from skeletonized individuals to explore how factors such as socioeconomic status, developmental stress, sex, and age intersected to affect frailty and risks of mortality in the past. My work examines the bioarchaeological evidence for the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis and demonstrates the potential for intersectional perspectives to inform our understanding of life and death in the past.
RESEARCH UPDATES
I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with Sarah Crespi, host of the Science podcast, which highlights recent publications from the Science family of journals. In this episode, we discussed the osteological paradox, the male-female morbidity-mortality paradox, and the challenges of conducting research on health in the past.
In March 2024, I was invited to present on my research as part of the Garrod Research Seminar Series hosted by the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK). The Garrod Seminar Series features current research from leading scholars in archaeology and anthropology organized around a central theme. The theme for the Lent 2024 term was "Bodies, People, and Persons: Identity in Conversation with Intersectionality and Beyond".
In September 2024, I was invited to present on my research as part of the Proseminar Speaker Series hosted by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV). The Proseminar Series invites scholars conducting interesting, innovative research to share their work with graduate students and faculty at in the department.
In May 2023, I was invited to present on my research as part of the Biological Anthropology Seminar Series hosted by the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University (Canberra, AU). The Biological Anthropology Seminar Series features current research from leading scholars in biological anthropology.
I am honored to have been selected as one of the 6 Cobb Professional Development Grant awardees recognized by the American Association of Biological Anthropologists in 2021. This award aims to encourage the professional development of talented scientists in the early stages of their careers.
I deeply appreciate the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina for their support as I prepared my dissertation. Following a competitive review process, I was selected to be a Russell J. and Dorothy S. Bilinski Fellow for the 2018-2019 academic year. The fellowship supports dissertation research and completion in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
My dissertation research received funding from the National Science Foundation and the University of South Carolina, allowing me to collect data from several skeletal collections in England and examine the effects of multiple marginalizations on patterns of frailty and mortality.
I am delighted to have been selected as one of the 13 Breakthrough Graduate Scholars recognized by the Office of the Vice President for Research for the 2018-2019 academic year. The Breakthrough family of awards honors the best and brightest graduate student and faculty researchers throughout the University of South Carolina system.
In summer of 2018, I was invited to be a guest speaker at the Governor's School of North Carolina. Governor's School is a 6-week summer residential program for intellectually gifted high school students, and allows students to explore recent ideas and concepts in fields like Natural Science, Mathematics, Social Science, and Art.
Following a recent publication in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, the University of South Carolina highlighted the results in a brief article on the university's website.