Kuanthgen

Faculty and Staff

Dr. Dennis O'Rourke

Principal Investigator
Chair, Department of Anthropology
Foundation Distinguished Professor
He/him/his

My research focuses on the use of molecular genetic methods to address long-standing questions in prehistory. My students and collaborators have conducted fieldwork and research projects in Mexico, the Caribbean, the US Southwest and California, and the North American arctic. Most recently, my group has focused attention on ancient DNA methods to investigate the colonization and dispersal of the North American arctic, and how this informs us about the earlier initial colonization of the Western Hemisphere. Utilizing genomic analyses of both human and archaeofaunal and archaeobotanical materials, my research interests and efforts increasingly are at the intersection of anthropological genetics, bioarchaeology, and paleoecology.

Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Jennifer Raff

Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Anthropology
Director of Graduate Studies
Indigenous Studies Program Affiliate Faculty
She/her/hers

My research examines the histories of human populations in North America using genomes from both contemporary and ancestral populations. I investigate the initial peopling of the Americas, the peopling of the North American Arctic, regional population histories and mortuary practices of the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains, and the impact of European colonization. I’m also involved in projects related to ethics in genetics research with Indigenous peoples, genomics capacity building among Indigenous communities, and public scientific literacy. My students and I take an engaged, collaborative approach to research with tribes. We believe that genetics is a useful tool that can complement Indigenous knowledge in obtaining a better understanding of the past and the lives of ancestors.

Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Lauren Norman

Assistant Teaching Professor
She/her/hers

My research examines the resilience of small-scale societies during periods of environmental and social change. I employ molecular methods to supplement traditional studies of faunal material in investigating the relationship between people and their environment. I am especially interested in community-based research in the north and with multi-vocal interpretations of the past.

Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Justin Tackney

Associate Researcher
He/him/his

My research focuses on population and evolutionary genetics, specifically as it relates to the initial peopling of the Americas and to the subsequent human migrations across the North American and Siberian Arctic during the Holocene. My work would not be possible without support from, and collaboration with, the local communities of Indigenous peoples who are interested and invested in genetic research.

Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Kristine G. Beaty

Laboratory Coordinator
She/her/hers

My research examines human migration and population history using molecular data from contemporary and ancestral communities, particularly throughout the Americas.

Curriculum Vitae

Graduate Students

Christopher Barrett

Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology
Adviser: Dr. O’Rourke

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, I joined the Ancient DNA and Anthropological Genetics research facilities at the University of Kansas in August 2016. Broadly, my research focuses on how genomic and epigenomic data from ancient DNA (aDNA) can be applied toward biological and anthropological questions. My dissertation uses ancient genomic and geochemical techniques to reconstruct genetic, demographic, and environmental histories in the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

Curriculum Vitae
Kevin Chovanec

Ph.D. Candidate, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Adviser: Dr. Richard Glor
Shawna Fitzwater

Ph.D. Student, Anthropology
Adviser: Dr. O’Rourke

My research examines ancient DNA (aDNA) through the use of molecular genetic methods to address pre-history human migratory patterns across the North American arctic. My prior research focused on zoonotic diseases, specifically host-pathogen interaction, as well as vaccine research and development.
Savannah (Vanna) Hay

Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology
Adviser: Dr. Raff
She/her/hers

I specialize in the ancient DNA and dental anthropology of prehistoric North Americans. I focus on what these avenues of research can teach us about, and changes in health and diet through time and space. I am also interested the epigenetic factors behind these changes in health, diet, and at times, morphology. Lastly, I am committed to public-outreach, repatriation, and creating ethical relationships between scientists and Indigenous groups in the Americas.

Curriculum Vitae
Caroline Kisielinski

Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology
Adviser: Dr. O’Rourke

I am an anthropological geneticist that focuses on paleoenvironmental reconstruction from sedimentary and environmental DNA. I use environmental DNA from archaeological sites to address questions pertaining to human origins in the Americas as well as human subsistence strategies.

Curriculum Vitae
Bethany Potter

Ph.D. Student, Anthropology
Adviser: Dr. Frederic Sellet
She/her/hers

I am an archaeologist currently working on optimizing a protocol for extracting DNA from lithic artifacts. My dissertation research is focused on Western Clovis mobility, integrating data from aDNA from stone tools and debris.

Curriculum Vitae
Lydia Sykora

Ph.D. Student, Anthropology
Adviser: Dr. Raff
She/her/hers

I am specializing in ancient DNA and the interpretations of human migration patterns. I’m broadly interested in the peopling of the Americas, but specifically filling in gaps of the genetic prehistory of ancient peoples on the Plains.

Curriculum Vitae
Sarah Unkel

Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology
Adviser: Dr. O’Rourke
She/her/hers

My research utilizes ancient DNA to answer questions regarding the peopling of the Americas with a focus on the Western North American Arctic. I am currently working on a collaborative project with the Indigenous community of Utqiaġvik, Alaska and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History to evaluate genetic population history and ancestral relations among the contemporary Inuit of the Alaskan North Slope and the ancient Birnirk Inuit tradition. This research was supported by the NSF Polar Program grant #1523160, Collaborative Research: People, Landscape, and Narratives in Time-Birnirk and the Emergence of Inupiaq Culture in Northwestern Alaska, as well as the University of Kansas Ancient DNA Research Facility.

Curriculum Vitae

Undergraduate Researchers

Brystol Bates

Biology and Anthropology
Madison Rice

Microbiology and Anthropology
She/her/hers

Curriculum Vitae
Abby (Mary) Vaughn

Anthropology
She/her/hers

Curriculum Vitae
Emily Ward

Anthropology and Political Science
She/her/hers

Curriculum Vitae