2019 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.

 

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, as well as mentor students in professional development, public outreach, and poster construction.

 

Project Mentor: Dr. Amelia Hubbard (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Wright State University) is a bioarchaeologist with research focusing on dental and genetic variation to interpret patterns of population movement, interaction, and exchange among prehistoric societies in Africa. Dr. Hubbard will mentor students in developing hypotheses and appropriate methodological techniques for assessing MNI and sex estimation.

 

Project Mentor: Dr. Alexis Boutin (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Sonoma State University) is a bioarchaeologist whose work seeks to bridge biological anthropology, archaeology, and social theory to explore embodied personhood across the life course.  Dr. Boutin will mentor students in the bioarchaeology of the Gulf, the application of social theory to their research, and the development of osteobiographical narratives as part of broader public outreach efforts.

 

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.

 

Guest Statistician: Dr. Frazier Bindele (Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, University of South Alabama) is a statistician with expertise in nonparametric statistics and robust estimation and testing.  He will work with REU students on developing their project statistics.

 

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.

 

Teaching Assistant: Ms. Natalie Smith is a recent University of South Alabama graduate who majored in anthropology and minored in forensic science. She currently works for the Center for Archaeological Studies on South’s campus as an archaeological technician. Natalie is interested in forensic anthropology and plans to go to graduate school in the near future.

 

Teaching Assistant: Ms. August Ellis is a senior double major in anthropology and criminal justice with a minor in forensic science at the University of South Alabama, and is especially interested in forensic anthropology and human osteology.  She currently works as a TA for the undergraduate Biological Anthropology course.  After graduating next year, she plans to attend graduate school in either anthropology or law.