Personal profile

About

My research interests include paleopathology (the study of ancient human disease) and bioarchaeology (the study of human remains from archaeological contexts). In particular, I focus on how aspects of sex, gender, and social identity impact the presence of diseases in the past. I am currently analyzing skeletons from medieval England, from cemetery populations in 19th-century urban centers in the United States, and in the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History. I have served as the President of the Paleopathology Association from 2009-2011, and as the Secretary/Treasurer of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) (2013-2017) and the President-elect, President, and Past-president from 2018-2022. I am currently the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Paleopathology. Along with my academic positions, I serve as a forensic consultant for the FBI's Evidence Response Team, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police, and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Disciplines

  • Biological and Physical Anthropology
  • Life Sciences
  • Immunology and Infectious Disease
  • Diseases