PhD Student

 

My research focuses on the effects of long-term swimming on the relative distribution of muscle and fat in the upper and lower limbs. By comparing the body composition of swimmers to that of runners, I hope to determine if there are differences in upper and lower limb muscle mass that correspond to different athletic profiles. I hope to use this information to better understand if a plastic response to activity or lifestyle is purely driven by compressive force or if there is also an active muscular component, a question fundamental to bone biology.

Past projects I have been involved in include examining tibial and femoral curvature alongside cross sectional geometric properties in Later Stone Age southern African individuals. I have also acted as a bioarchaeological analyst for the Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist, working on Cheyenne’s ‘Old City Cemetery’.

Keywords: functional adaptation, plasticity, skeletal biology, human athletic paleobiology, social determinants of health and activity, life history, bioarchaeology