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Research

I am an Assistant Professor for Biomolecular Archaeology at Texas A&M University in the Anthropology Department. I run the Palaeoproteomics and Archaeogenetics Lab working primarly on ancient and historic animals or animal products.

I received my PhD in biology and astrobiology from Penn State, held Marie Curie and Newton Fellowships at the University of York, was the Head of the Palaeoproteomics Laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Laboratory Manager in the Anthropology Department at Harvard. I am firmly invested in interdisciplinary work and regularly work with people in archaeology, ecology, chemistry, and biology.

I am interested in preservation of biomolecules in the archaeological record, use of aquatic resources by historic and prehistoric populations, and the use of the archeological record to inform current animal protection and conservation management strategies.

Through ZooMS Marker Development I collaborate with research groups to develop collagen biomarkers. OpenZooMS is a collaboration to make reference spectra, data repositories, and open source tools for the ZooMS community.

Teaching

Science knowledge has become necessary from everything from making informed personal health choices to understanding our technology; from energy production to feeding the world's population; from exploring the depths of our oceans to traversing the expanse of space. Understanding how to integrate the increasing amount of science knowledge into daily living necessitates an understanding of science itself. Therefore, in addition to my research, I am invested in science education, both in traditional classrooms and non-classroom environments.

I have taught lectures, labs, and seminars on the college level in a wide range of topics including archaeology, biology, pedagogy, and presentation skills at the University of York, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Bradford, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University. I have redeveloped lab courses, designed course material, coordinated teaching assistants for large classes, and conducted teaching observations.

In addition, I am invested in observing other educators from a wide range of philosophies and backgrounds and participating in research-based discussions on teaching practice in order to improve my teaching skills which include restructuring courses for online teaching.

Outreach

In addition to teaching about science on a college level, I am invested in educating the general public on science related topics. My outreach activities have involved planning multiple week long classes for children to speaking engagements aimed at archaeology and ecology public groups. I also regularly speak to classrooms about science and being a scientist through Skype A Scientist.

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