Fifth Yeah Ph.D. Student; Doctoral Candidate

Pronouns: They/She

Position: Graduate Student Researcher, Volunteer, and Mentor

Taylor is a fifth year Doctoral Candidate and the inaugural FAB Lab Manager (2020-2024). They have a B.S. in Anthropology from Michigan State University (2016) as well as MSc degrees in Bioarchaeological and Forensic Anthropology (2019) and Musculoskeletal Sciences (2020) from the University College London. Taylor has had the privilege of working on various research projects over the years, all of which have focused on improving positive identification efforts in forensic anthropology and understanding how bone tissue behaves under various ante- and post-mortem conditions. Taylor’s dissertation, titled “Forensic Equity: Examining Lethal Anti-Transgender Violence and Advancements in the Identification of Transgender Decedents,” focuses on the equitable treatment of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) decedents in forensic anthropology. They are working with a number of samples to better understand TGD death trends, how bone reacts to gender-affirming hormone therapy, and how these may impact the forensic identification process. They also work on a number of complementary projects focused on queering biological anthropology, culminating in the creation of the Queering BioAnth Reference Library and the Contextual Observations in Support of all Gender Expressions (COSAGE) form for forensic anthropologists. Following graduation, Taylor hopes to continue working to improve forensic identification methods for marginalized populations through the use of research, mentorship, and public health policy. For the 2024-2025 academic year, Taylor was awarded the President’s UNLV Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship; they are also interning with a local museum, mentoring research assistants, and continuing volunteer work with the UNLV Graduate College.

Fourth Year Ph.D. Student; Doctoral Candidate

Pronouns: She/Her

Position: Graduate Student Researcher, Volunteer and Mentor

Katherine (Katie's) background is in bioarchaeology and she is primarily interested in how individuals and societies have experienced health and disease in the past. She is currently working as a field osteologist for two active medieval bioarchaeology research sites located in Poland, where her recent research has focused on taking an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of skeletal biomarkers of stress in order to form a more comprehensive understanding of frailty in medieval Prussia. Currently, her PhD research involves exploring biocultural theories of ageing as they relate to health across the lifespan in order to better understand the lived experiences of elderly adults in both bioarchaeological and forensic contexts.

Third Year Ph.D. Student

Pronouns: He/His

Position: Laboratory Manager and Graduate Student Researcher

Liam is a third year PhD student studying biological anthropology with a background in forensic anthropology and geospatial analysis. Prior to attending UNLV, Liam researched 3D computational age-at-death techniques on a modern Portuguese skeletal population. He has more recently conducted research on the spatiotemporal distribution of missing persons cases from Louisiana to aid investigative agencies and recommend spatially informed locations of where to strategically host community centered missing and unidentified persons events. Liam is funded as a Top Tier Doctoral Graduate Research Assistant and in collaboration with the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner intends to further explore the intersections between unidentified and missing persons, public health, advocacy, geospatial technology, and community engagement with his dissertation project titled "Named and Unnamed: A Social Autopsy of Nevada's Missing and Unidentified".

Curriculum Vitae

First year Ph.D. Student 

Laura holds a Master’s Degree in Anthropology, Forensics Minor with emphases in biocultural anthropology and bioarchaeology. Before returning to academia, Laura worked as a Secretary Of the Interior (SOI) qualified Registered Professional Archaeologist with federal accreditations in Physical/Biological Anthropology and Cultural Collections specializing in legacy projects involving skeletal remains. Laura’s interests explore the application of the forensic anthropological method towards culturally-specific perimortem traumas and skeletal indicators impacting the interpretation of osteological processes in bioarcheological remains to establish a reliable identification method for historically marginalized BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) communities seeking to validate their collective narrative and ancestral heritage. Laura’s hope is that the empirical data garnered from the ethnohistorical, bioarcheological, and forensic analyses empower BIPOC communities to qualify the historiography shaping contemporary narratives, thus inspiring comprehensive discourse to reexamine and redefine stereotypes, attitudes, and beliefs within an existing cultural framework.

Third Year Ph.D. Student

Pronouns: She/Her

Position: Graduate Student Researcher and Volunteer

Dayanira has a Master of Science degree in Forensic Studies with a concentration on Human Identity & Trauma analysis from Florida Gulf Coast University. Prior to beginning her studies as a doctoral student at UNLV, her training, education, and experience were focused on fragmentary human osteology and forensic anthropology. Her previous research includes the effects of hydrochloric acid on human remains while documenting the pattern of dissolution observed, best practices in curation of human skeletal remains, skeletal manifestations of developmental defects (Goldenhar – Gorlin Syndrome), and postmortem alligator scavenging on human remains. Presently, she hopes to evaluate evidence of disability and impairment on the skeletal remains of the ancient Maya of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.

Curriculum Vitae

First Year Ph.D. Student

Pronouns: She/Her

Position: Graduate Student Researcher 

Kathleen Stansbury is a graduate student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas studying biopower, necropolitics and institutional violence. Her current research centers on violence experienced through interaction with Western biomedical systems, integrating critical medical anthropology and bioarchaeology. Prior to attending UNLV, she focused on state-specific histories of forced sterilization. Her MA project used musculoskeletal markers to consider gendered patterns of labor in systems of violent captivity. She focuses on the use of queer, feminist, and disability theory in biological anthropology.

Fourth Year Ph.D. Student; Doctoral Candidate

Pronouns: She/Her

Position: Graduate Student Researcher, Volunteer and Mentor

Katharine has a background in both biological and forensic anthropology. She has worked extensively with prehistoric human skeletal remains. Katharine has also conducted taphonomic research exploring the variations that occur to remains when subject to winter weather conditions. Currently, her Ph.D. project focuses on health disparities and violence directed toward women and children residing at county poor houses during the 19th and early 20th centuries. She intends to analyze the skeletal remains belonging to the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery (MCPFC), as well as data from the Erie County Poorhouse (ECPH). Her hope is that this research may provide a better understanding of how women and children’s bodies are regulated by social and societal organizations/institutions.

Curriculum Vitae