Our Team (Spring, 2023)
Top Row Left to Right : Chaun, Annisianna, Tyra, Noemi, Cameron, Gwen, Charlotte, Desani, and Maisha (Inset is Jasmine)
Front Row Left to Right: Eileen, Lelise, Ruby, Irena, Tiara, and Laura
PEOPLE IN THE ROBBINS SCHUG HUMAN DIVERSITY LAB
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Gwen Robbins Schug, Ph.D.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Gwen Robbins Schug is a Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Dr. Schug received her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 2007. Her research is focused on how history, society, and culture guided human responses to crisis throughout the Holocene and how these adaptive challenges affected human health. She is primarily interested in the role of social inequality and the experience of resilience in the face of climate and environmental changes. Dr. Schug is also involved in research on the ethics of the curation and use of human skeletons in teaching and research. She has primarily worked in India but has recently begun projects in Oman and Italy. She is the editor of the Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Climate and Environmental Change (2020) and The Companion to South Asia in the Past (2016), and author of the book, Bioarchaeology and Climate Change (2011). She is also the author of more than 40 articles and book chapters. She is the co-Editor-in-Chief of Bioarchaeology International and an academic editor at PLOS One. She is the mother of four children, three dogs, two cats, and welcomed her first grandchild in 2022.
Chaunesey Clemmons
Ph.D. student
Chaunesey Clemmons is a PhD student in Environmental Health Sciences at UNCG. She holds two BA degrees in Anthropology and Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University and an MA in Anthropology from Texas State University. She is co-founder of the Coalition for Equity in Anthropology, an independent group committed to dismantling the intersectional barriers confronted by BIPOC and underrepresented persons when navigating the four fields of anthropology. Her research interests include ethical issues in the curation and use of human skeletal remains and understanding the intersectionality of identity for biological and forensic applications. She has authored a number of publications in scientific journals and has also written for popular audiences as part of her commitment to community based research and outreach (for example this piece in Forensic Magazine).
Charlotte Shore
Lab Technician
Charlotte Shore received her Bachelors degree in Biology from UNCG in 2022 and is taking a gap year to prepare for graduate school. In Dr. Robbins Schug's lab, she is characterizing the oral microbiota of individuals from Oman during the Bronze Age using metagenomic analysis of bacterial DNA from dental calculus.
Ruby Arteaga
Post-Baccalaureate Researcher
Ruby Arteaga received her Bachelors degree in Exercise Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is currently doing a post-bac in Biology at UNCG. "I hope to apply to medical school to become a doctor and possibly do research in women's health." In Dr. Robbins Schug lab, Ruby is using a Micro CT on bone samples from developing children to characterize the range of variation in microstructural features and how these become deranged when homeostasis becomes disrupted.
Cameron Jackson
Post-Baccalaureate Researcher
Cameron Jackson is a pre-medical post-baccalaureate student in his second year at the University of North Carolina Greensboro pursuing admission to medical school and a career as a physician. An advocate for the expansion of healthcare access in rural communities, Cameron hopes to specialize in general surgery and practice in areas of high need. In addition to his academic pursuits, Cameron works as an Emergency Medical Technician for Davidson County Emergency Services. Prior to his tenure at UNCG, Mr. Jackson, a classically trained operatic bass-baritone, appeared with opera companies across the United States completing residencies at the Indianapolis Opera and Opera Naples. Mr. Jackson holds a Bachelor and Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he was a Fellow of the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute. Cameron will be investigating the microstructural effects of skeletal emaciation using polarized light microscopy.
Laura Winn
Post-Baccalaureate Researcher
Laura Winn is a Pre-Medical Post Baccalaureate student majoring in Biochemistry with the goal of becoming a Cardiologist. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a Masters’ degree in Engineering Management. Prior to coming to UNCG, she served as an Army Engineer for 8 years (Beat Navy!). Laura Will be conducting an analysis of microstructural characteristics of immature human femurs to understand patterns of variation in bone mass, porosity, and cross-sectional geometry. In her free time, she enjoys snow sports, good books and hiking and camping with her dog, Professor Kaos.
Noemi Salinas
Post-Baccalaureate Researcher
Noemi Salinas received her Bachelor's degree in Medical Anthropology from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2021. She is currently completing her premedical post-baccalaureate in Biology at UNCG. Noemi has primarily focused on expanding her knowledge and advocacy of maternal and child health as well as addressing health disparities with the goal of working in women’s health and under resourced populations. Along with a focus on medical anthropology, Noemi has enjoyed learning about humanity’s past and the ways societies have been preserved, allowing us to understand their ways of life through artifacts, architecture, and art. Her time at UNC-CH allowed her to explore other fields of anthropology including topics on human origins, Mediterranean archaeology, and prehistoric art.
Undergraduate Research in the Robbins Schug lab
Tiara P. Campbell
Undergraduate Researcher
Tiara P. Campbell is a senior at UNCG. She is a Biology major in the Human Biology Concentration and a Studio Arts minor. She is working on traumatic injuries from the site of Dahwa in Oman, contributing her artistic skills ethically portray traumatic injuries for publication. She is also using the 3D scanner and printers to provide ethically sourced materials for teaching osteology and bioarchaeology. Her future plans include attending the Medical Illustration Graduate Program at Augusta University. "I've always had a passion for the medical and science world along with my love for visual arts. This program will sculpt and mold me to be the best BioMedical Illustrator/Animator that I can be." Once graduate school is complete, her goal is to work with Arthrex, a global medical device company that focuses on new surgical devices along with patient education. "I hope to one day use my illustrations and knowledge to help patients better understand their care."
Eileen Davis
Undergraduate Researcher
Eileen Davis is a senior at UNCG. She is majoring in Biology with a concentration in Human Biology and also minoring in Anthropology. "I am very excited to graduate in Spring 2023 and continue my educational journey in Biology and Anthropology." Eileen is working on a research project to characterize the range of normal variation in human bone ontogeny using the microCT. These data will serve as a reference for immature human skeletal anatomy between healthy individuals and individuals that dealt with skeletal emaciation.
Annisianna Egerton
Undergraduate Researcher
Annisianna Egerton is a junior at UNCG. She is majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry. She plans to go to medical school and to continue doing research. She is currently working on a research project to create a reference for microstructural features in immature human femurs using a microCT. These data will characterize the range of normal variation in human bone ontogeny and serve as a reference for differences between healthy bone versus bone in cases of growth derangement.
Victoria Frye (NSF STAMPS Scholar)
Undergraduate Assistant for Bioarchaeology International
Victoria is currently pursuing her BA in Biology with a minor in Sustainability. She received her AAS in Zoo Science, with a focus in herpetology, completing four internships alongside her classes including working for Association of Zoo and Aquarium approved facilities such as Greensboro Science Center and North Carolina Zoological Park (NC Zoo). After graduating with her AAS, she spent another year interning at the NC Zoo and was subsequently hired to work in the zoo’s research department. She returned to school to continue her education after discovering her passion for research converged with her conservation concerns. Victoria plans to attend graduate school with a goal of conducting international field research on environmental impacts of human-wildlife interactions. She is currently doing research in Dr. Akira Terui’s lab at UNCG on bluebird nesting and predation behavior. She is also working as an editorial assistant for Dr. Gwen Robbins-Schug and the academic journal, Bioarchaeology International.
Tyra Mitchell
Undergraduate Researcher
Tyra Mitchell is a junior in Biology at UNCG. She plans to attend Pharmacy School after graduation. She is working with the microCT at the Joint Nanoschool on bone biology research. This project characterized human variation in microstructural features such as pore volume, distribution, and cross-sectional geometry. These data expand what is known about the range of variation in human ontogeny and can be used for comparison of deranged growth.
Irena Mustafaj
Undergraduate Researcher
Irena Mustafaj is a Biology major and Chemistry minor at UNCG. Currently a Senior, she is planning to graduate in December of 2023. Irena plans on obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Nursing after graduation and to become a Nurse Practitioner, specializing in pediatrics. She is currently using a microCT to create a reference for ontogeny in human femoral microstructure. These data will be used to describe the range of variation and to compare differences between healthy and emaciated bone.
Jasmine Sprigle
Undergraduate Researcher
Jasmine Sprigle is a senior in Biology at UNCG. She is planning to further her education at dental school. "I plan to one day become an orthodontist or periodontist." Jasmine is working on isolated teeth from Bronze Age Oman, identifying them and recording information about dental pathology in a period of climate and environmental change.
Lelise Weyessa
Undergraduate Researcher
Lelise Weyessa is a Biology major with a Chemistry minor at UNCG. She is currently collecting data using a microCT machine to create an ontogenetic reference sample for human femoral microstructure. These data will be used to describe the range of variation and to compare differences between healthy and emaciated bone in children.
Alumni Lab Members
Julia Klass
Former Post-Baccalaureate Researcher (Fall, 2022)
Julia Klass graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor's degree in 2020. She was a double major in Anthropology and Biology. She came to UNCG in the Fall of 2022 to do research on traumatic injuries at the Bronze Age site of Dahwa, Oman. Julia is currently in South Korea and is applying to Graduate Programs to continue her research in Bioarchaeology.
Tatyana Watson-Glen
Former Undergraduate Researcher (Spring, 2021)
Tatyana Watson-Glen graduated from UNCG in 2021. She was an anthropology major and did research on paleopathology in the context of climate and environmental change with Dr. Robbins Schug. Tatyana co-authored a paper with Dr. Robbins Schug in her senior year (Robbins Schug et al., 2022).