Dr. Allison E. Mann, Assistant Professor
I’m a biological anthropologist interested in how microbes can help us to better understand human evolution, health, history, behavior, and diversity. My research lies at the intersection of microbial ecology, biological anthropology, biomedical sciences, and computational biology. I am particularly interested in the biotic and abiotic factors that shape host-associated microbial ecosystems both in living and past populations.
Dr. Gomathi Nayagam Sankaranarayanan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
I am a life sciences researcher with expertise in microbiomes, metagenomics, and evolution. My work spans ancient and modern microbial communities, with a focus on understanding genomic adaptations, bacteriophage-bacteria dynamics, and microbial functions in diverse environments. I am also passionate about bioinformatics, artificial evolution simulations, and sequencing technologies.
Alaina Evers, PhD Student
I am a bioarchaeologist with interests in human osteology, mortuary archaeology, and ancient DNA. My past research focuses have been on how skeletal remains can reveal information about past health, diet, and lived experiences. I am particularly interested in combining osteological and genetic analyses to reconstruct the lifeways of past populations. In addition to research, I am committed to repatriation efforts and to promoting justice for the deceased through ethical engagement with human remains.
Sophia Eberts, Masters Student
I am an anthropologist with many interests in the fields of biological anthropology, archaeology, and geology. My current research is focused on testing DNA extraction methods from fish scales that have been preserved in different ways (fresh, dried, etc) as well as working on decontamination protocols for these samples. The ultimate goal of this is to use the DNA from the preserved scales to do whole-genome shotgun sequencing.
DJ Lueloff, Undergraduate Research Assistant and McNair Scholar
I’m a paleo anthropologist/geneticist interested in where humans come from and how we relate to our evolutionary ancestors. My research lies in the study of Neanderthal, ancient human, Denisovan, and hopefully one day Homo erectus genomes. I am particularly interested at the moment in the significance of genetic introgression between Neanderthals and modern humans.