The Forensic Anthropology and Bioarcheological Laboratory is located in Ansari Business Building, Room 515. The faculty of the Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Laboratory (FABL) regularly conduct forensic anthropological analyses for law enforcement agencies and Medical Examiners' offices. Such work includes the determination of human vs. non-human bone, the forensic significance of remains, estimation of the biological profile (i.e., age, sex, ancestry, stature), trauma analysis, the recovery of human remains and radiographic comparison for positive identification. Lab faculty also can provide expert witness testimony. Two of the faculty are certified forensic anthropologists by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. It also offers the ability to analyze and consult on human remains from an archaeological context; faculty have extensive experience with prehistoric and historic remains from the American West and abroad.
Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Laboratory
Laboratory details
The Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Laboratory is a fully secure facility located in the Ansari Business Building on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. It has full microscopy and photography stations and NIST-traceable osteometric equipment. It also has a NOMAD handheld portable X-ray as well as complete histological equipment for histological slide preparation and analysis. There is an existing partnership with the Human Paleoecology and Archaeometry Laboratory on campus to do radiocarbon dating to assist in the determination of forensic significance.
The Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Laboratory provides forensic anthropological services to law enforcement agencies, medical examiner offices and attorneys. In addition to the services outlined below, lab faculty are qualified to provide expert witness testimony.
Recoveries
- Search and recovery of human remains in outdoor or fire scenes and clandestine graves
- Includes extensive excavation and documentation in accordance with archaeological practices
Identification of human skeletal remains
- Establish human vs. non-human skeletal remains via photograph or in-person
Laboratory analyses
- Biological profile (age, sex, ancestry, stature)
- Trauma analysis
- Forensic significance
- Radiographic comparison for the purposes of positive identification
The lab is equipped to assist with the analysis of remains from an archaeological context. Faculty members can assist in cases of repatriation as well as skeletal analyses. Such work could include skeletal analyses (i.e., biological profile) and inventory, paleopathological analyses, histological analysis and radiographic imagery.
Contact
Please contact Marin Pilloud should you need forensic or bioarchaeological services.
- Marin A. Pilloud, Ph.D., D-ABFA
- G. Richard Scott, Ph.D.
- Kyra Stull, Ph.D., D-ABFA
Faculty and graduate students are very engaged in research in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Research efforts are focused on human growth and development, dental anthropology, improving methods in the estimation of the biological profile in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Graduate students are involved in research projects across the world.
Current graduate students
- Donovan Adams
- Kristen Broehl
- Elaine Chu
- Laura Cirillo
- Stephanie Cole
- Rebecca George
- Savannah Hay
- Cortney Hulse
- Dori Kenessey
- Rosie Perash
- Cassie Skipper
- Tatiana Vlemincq
- Christopher Wolfe
National Institute of Justice
- 2019 - National Institute of Justice: Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes. “Subadult Ancestry Estimation Using Craniometrics, Macromorphoscopics, Odontometrics, and Dental Morphology.” Principal Investigator: Kyra Stull, Co-Principal Investigators: Richard Scott, Marin Pilloud, and Kate Spradley. Award No: 2019-DU-BX-0039, Commenced January 1, 2020 ($785,847).
- 2019 - National Institute of Justice: Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes. “Skeletal Trauma in Forensic Anthropology: Improving the Accuracy of Trauma Analysis and Expert Testimony.” Principal Investigator: Agnew, Amanda, Co-Principal Investigator: Kyra Stull. Award No: 2019-DU-BX-0040, Commenced January 1, 2020 ($782,183).
- 2019 - National Institute of Justice: Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. “Blunt Force Trauma to the Ribs: Creating Predictive Models.” Principal Investigator: Stull, KE, Co-Principal Investigator: Cortney N. Hulse. Award No: 2019-R2-CX-0047, Commence January 1, 2020 ($100,000).
- 2017 - National Institute of Justice: Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes. “Quantifying the Impact of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors to Improve Juvenile Age Estimation.” Principal Investigator: Stull, KE. Award No: 2017-DN-BX-K0144, Commenced January 1, 2018 ($561, 528).
- 2015-DN-BX-K409 “Development of Modern Subadult Standards: Improved Age and Sex Estimation in U.S. Forensic Practice” Stull, KE (PI), Garvin, HM (Co-PI), and Klales, AR (Co-PI). September 2016 – December 31, 2019.
- 2017-DN-BX-0144 “Quantifying the Impact of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors to Improve Juvenile Age Estimation” Stull, KE (PI). January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2019.
- 2017-DN-BX-0143 “A Dental Anthropological Databank for Use in the Statistical Estimation of Ancestry and Sex in Forensic Anthropology” Pilloud, MA (PI) and Scott, R (Co-PI). January 1, 2018 – July 31, 2019.
National Science Foundation
- BCS-1551913 “A Multivariate Model of Subadult Age Estimation” Stull, KE (PI). September 1, 2016 – December 31, 2019.
- BCS – 1827338 “Creation, Maintenance, and Mobility of Neolithic Communities in Central Anatolia” Pilloud, MA (PI), Somel, M (co-PI), Knüsel, CJ (Co-PI), and Larsen, CS (co-PI). 1 August 2018 – 31 July 2020.
- BCS – 1848473 “Community Development and Culture Negotiation during the Early Bronze Age in Western Anatolia” Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: Pilloud, MA (PI) and Adams, DM (PI). 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2019.
Other
- 2019 - Erasmus+ Higher Capacity Grant. Principal Investigator: EN, L’Abbé (999,850 €), University of Pretoria, South Africa. Collaborator: Stull, KE. Award No: 597924-EPP-1-2018-ZA-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP (2018-3229) ENV2, Commenced January 2019.
- Stull, KE and Armelli, KA* (accepted) “Combining Variables to Improve Subadult Age Estimation.” Forensic Anthropology.
- Stull, KE, Corron, LK, Price, MH (in press) “Subadult age estimation variables: Exploring their varying roles across ontogeny.” In Remodeling Forensic Skeletal Age.
- Stull, KE, Cole, SJ*, Cirillo, LE*, Hulse, CN* (2020) “Subadult Sex Estimation.” In: Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton: History, Methods, and Emerging Techniques. Alexandra R. Klales, Editor. Academic Press: San Diego, CA.
- Cole, SJ*, Hulse, CN*, Stull, KE 2020) “Skeletal Asymmetry.” In: Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton: History, Methods, and Emerging. Alexandra R. Klales, Editor. Academic Press: San Diego, CA.
- Stock, MK, arvin, HM, Corron, LK, Hulse, CN*, Cirillo, LE*, Klales, AR, Colman, KL*, and Stull, KE (2020) “The Importance of Processing Procedures and Threshold Values in CT Scan Segmentation of Skeletal Elements: An Example Using the Immature Os Coxa.” Forensic Science International 309: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110232.
- Colman, K. L., de Boer, H. H., Dobbe, J. G., Liberton, N. P. T. J., Stull, K. E., van Eijnaten, M., Streekstra, G. J., Oostra, R. J., Van Rijn, R. R., Oostra, R. J., & van der Merwe, A. E. (2019). Virtual forensic anthropology: the accuracy of osteometric analysis of 3D bone models derived from clinical computed tomography (CT) scans. Forensic Science International 304: 1-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.109963.
- Colman, KL*, van der Merwe, AE, Stull, KE, Dobbe, JGG, Streekstra, GJ, van Rijn, RR, Oostra, R, de Boer, HH (2019) “The accuracy of 3D virtual bone models of the pelvis for morphological sex estimation.&rdquo International Journal of Legal Medicine 133:1853–1860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-019-02002-7.
- Hulse, CN*, Stull, KE, Weaver, A (2018) “Rib Fracture Frequency and Location Using Vehicular Crash Data.” Forensic Anthropology 2(1): 1-8. DOI: http://dx.doi.org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.5744/fa.2018.1028.
- Liebenberg, L*, Krüger, GC*, L’Abbé, EN, and Stull, KE (2018) “Postcraniometric Sex and Ancestry Estimation in South Africa: A Validation Study.” International Journal of Legal Medicine. 133(1): 289-296. DOI: 10.1007/s00414-018-1865-x.
- Colman, K*, Janssen, MC, Stull, KE, van Rijn, RR, Oostra, RJ, de Boer, HH, van der Merwe, AE (2018) “A metric method for sex determination using the proximal femur, based on Dutch clinical CT-data.” Forensic Science International 286:268.e1-268.e8. doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.12.029.
- Kenyhercz, MW, Klales, AR, Stull, KE, McCormick, KA, Cole, SJ* (2017) “Worldwide Population Variation in Pelvic Sexual Dimorphism: A Validation and Recalibration of the Klales et al. Method.” Forensic Science International 277: 259.e1-259.e8. doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.05.001.
- Stull, KE, L’Abbé, EN and Ousley, SD (2017) “Subadult Sex Estimation from Diaphyseal Dimensions.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology& 163(1): 64–74. DOI:& 10.1002/ajpa.23185.
- Spradley, MK, Stull, KE, and Hefner, J (2016) “Craniofacial Secular Change in Recent Mexican Migrants.” Journal of Human Biology 88(1): 15-29.
