About the lab
The lab: Our lab space is a secure computing space, set up with several high powered computers and secure data storage system. In this space, we work with medical images (especially CT scans, often large files), build statistical models, and perform other data analyses. Data collection for some projects also occurs in the field, in collaboration with the MRC Unit the Gambia for our human biology projects, but also in museums and medicolegal institutions around the world for skeletal biology projects. Members of our group may also be able to use other spaces in the department if necessary.
Lab ethos: We value collaborative, interdisciplinary, methodologically sound work that is grounded in open science principles. Lab members are expected to read broadly and across sub-disciplines, dedicate time to improving their statistical skills, to work in R and to support each other’s work where appropriate. We meet as a group weekly for journal clubs, code reviews, and/or to share progress updates.
Prospective students: If you are considering applying to join the lab as an MSc or PhD student, please get in touch with me via e-mail prior to applying. This will help you determine whether your research interests align with our work.
Lab member bios
Alex Semma Tamayo
Alex is a graduate student in the lab working on gunshot wounds in tubular bones
Read moreBiannet Perez
Biannet is a graduate student in the lab working on humanitarian forensics
Read moreKailee Behunin
Kailee is a graduate student in the lab working on trade-offs in growth and development
Read moreLab Alumni
Find out what our alumni are up to now!
Read moreCourses taught
Anthropology of Childhood
Taught at the 200 level
Read moreAdvanced Statistics - Multivariate
Taught at the graduate level
Read moreCheck out some photos from our work
The NTKB team assembles before a day out in the field
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Kailee and two nurses assess a child’s fine motor development
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RFP team shares early results of wave 1 in Keneba
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Laure and Jainaba visiting with a participant in the women’s garden
Read moreCurrent and past projects
Proximity Sensing for Social Support Network Reconstruction
Can we use proximity sensors and daily recalls of social interaction to derive better data collection protocols for observing cooperation and religiosity in the field? How might a longitudinal study leverage these tools to drive a causal analysis of the impact of religion on cooperation?
Read moreDentinAge
What value does secondary dentine deposition rate have for adult age estimation? How well do these methods work across populations?
Read moreNeed To Know Basis: Understanding Female Genital Cutting
What factors do parents consider when they weight the choice to have their girls cut? How is information about women’s cut status shared across communities? How does this inform our understanding of the cultural mechanisms underpinning the continuance of the practice?
Read moreThe Evolutionary Demography of Religion
Does social support improve maternal and child outcomes? And what role does belonging to a religious group play in promoting social networks and cooperation?
Read moreRecent publications from lab members
New More Generic and Inclusive Regression Formulae for the Estimation of Stature from Long Bone Lengths in Children
This paper takes a universal approach to juvenile stature estimation by using a reference sample that combines two different populations
Read moreBiological mortality bias in diaphyseal growth of contemporary children: Implications for paleoauxology
This paper uses a contemporary population to test the presence and magnitude of mortality bias in long bone growth and reflects on its possible presence in past populations
Read moreMother’s Partnership Status and Allomothering Networks in the United Kingdom and United States
This paper uses data from an online survey of UK and US mothers to test how partnership status is correlated with allomaternal support received by mothers and their childbearing decisions
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