About

Education

  • 2015 - 2019: BA in Anthropology, UNC Chapel Hill
  • 2015 - 2019: BSPH in Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health
  • 2019 - 2022: MA in Anthropology, Penn State
  • 2019 - April 2024* (expected): Ph.D. in Anthropology, Penn State

Interests

I am a biological anthropologist and Ph.D. candidate at Penn State researching ancient DNA, bioarchaeology, and paleoepidemiology. My main research interest is in integrating signals from ancient human oral microbiomes with macroscopic indicators of skeletal health for the purposes of enhancing paleoepidemiological reconstructions of past health and disease dynamics. I am especially interested in how human health is interrelated with nutritional, societal, and ecological factors across space and time.

My passion for anthropology is rooted in the belief that a better understanding of the past can improve the future. By refining our ability to reconstruct ancient signals of health and disease, I hope to enable modern medical practitioners to better understand the evolutionary context of their work and thereby develop improved health interventions.