2021 Directors and Mentors

 

Program Director: Dr. Lesley A. Gregoricka (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of South Alabama) is a bioarchaeologist specializing in biogeochemical analyses of skeletal tissues to investigate questions involving prehistoric human mobility, diet, and the evolution of social complexity in the Near East and Arabia.

 

Program Director: Dr. Jaime M. Ullinger (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Quinnipiac University) is a bioarchaeologist asking questions about health, genetic relatedness, and mortuary practices in past populations, including the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Middle East, and the Bronze Age in Eastern Europe.

 

Project Mentor: Dr. Sharon DeWitte (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of South Carolina) is a biological anthropologist with research interests in paleodemography and paleoepidemiology.  Her bioarchaeological work has addressed the health and demographic consequences of epidemics such as the Black Death in medieval Europe.  Dr. DeWitte will mentor students in paleodemographic methods and the application of transition analysis to commingled human skeletal remains.

 

Project Mentor: Dr. Dwayne Boucaud (Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Quinnipiac University) is a microbiologist with an interest in viruses and their interactions with the host cell. Dr. Boucaud is also interested in health disparities in relation to race and equity and how science and policy intersect to address these issues. Dr. Boucaud will work with students on a project related to bacterial bioerosion in perinatal skeletons.

 

Senior Guest Scientist: Dr. Susan G. Sheridan (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame) is an expert on the bioarchaeology of the Near East and commingled assemblages. She will speak to students about the challenges of demographic analysis of commingled skeletal remains.

 

Senior Guest Scientist: Dr. Clark Larsen (Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University) is a bioarchaeologist whose research holistically examines health, quality of life, adaptation, and lifestyle in the past. His most recent work centers on adaptive pre- and post-contact trends at St. Catherine’s Island in Georgia; he also led the bioarchaeological research team at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. Dr. Larsen will speak to students about bioarchaeology and the importance of demographic context.

 

Ethics Mentor: Dr. Molly Zuckerman (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Mississippi State University) is a bioarchaeologist whose research centers on the bio-social determinants of health inequalities among past populations, with a particular focus on social identity and gender, and on the evolution of infectious disease, with a focus on syphilis and the treponematoses.

 

Digital Storytelling Specialist: Dr. M. Delwar Hossain (Assistant Professor of Communication, University of South Alabama) is a digital journalist whose teaching and research areas revolve around social media, international and political communications, race and media, and mass media ethics.  He will work with REU students on constructing their digital stories for public outreach.

 

Guest Statistician: Dr. Christine Ruey Shan Lee (Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, University of South Alabama) is a mathematician specializing in quantum topology and low-dimensional topology and is involved in outreach efforts such as Girls Who Code and Girls in Math, aimed at middle school students. She will work with REU students on developing their project statistics.

 

Teaching Assistant: Ms. Tessa Monteleone is a University of South Alabama graduate who majored in anthropology and minored in criminal justice. Currently she spends time volunteering in the USA Bioanthropology Lab and is interested in paleopathology and forensic anthropology. She plans to attend graduate school in the upcoming year.

 

Teaching Assistant: Ms. Anna Shunnarah is a recent University of South Alabama graduate who majored in biomedical sciences and minored in forensic science. During her time at the university, she worked at the Center of Academic Excellence as a chemistry tutor, participated in a rural medicine internship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Medicine, and completed research in public health. Anna will be attending the University of South Alabama’s College of Medicine in the fall and plans to further explore a career in forensic pathology.