People
Jane Buikstra
Regents Professor Jane Buikstra is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. She is credited with forming the discipline of bioarchaeology, which applies biological anthropological methods to the study of archaeology. She was also the founding director of the Center for Bioarchaeological Research at Arizona State University.
Buikstra’s international research encompasses bioarchaeology, paleopathology, forensic anthropology and paleodemography. Among her current work is an investigation of the evolutionary history of ancient tuberculosis in the Americas based on archaeologically recovered pathogen DNA.
Recent awards include the American Academy of Forensic Sciences’ T. Dale Stewart Award and the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.
Buikstra is the president of the Center for American Archeology and has served as past president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, the American Anthropological Association and the Paleopathology Association. She is the inaugural editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Paleopathology.
The author of more than 25 books and 200 articles, Buikstra has mentored 60+ doctoral students.
Dawnie Steadman
Dawnie Wolfe Steadman is a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Anthropology and a UTAA Distinguished Service Professor. Before coming to the University of Tennessee in 2011, she was faculty at Iowa State University and Binghamton University, SUNY. She served as the Director of the Forensic Anthropology Center at UTK from 2011 until 2025. She is a Diplomate (#72) of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is a past Vice President of the Board. Her edited book, Hard Evidence: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology, is in its second edition and emphasizes the multidisciplinary, collaborative nature of the forensic sciences.
Research
I am a skeletal biologist who specializes in forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, and forensic human rights investigations. All of my work is highly collaborative, including with population geneticists, chemists, soil scientists, entomologists, computer scientists, and many more amazing colleagues! I have conducted several federally funded projects at the Forensic Anthropology Center and the Anthropology Research Facility, the most recent of which include how end-of-life diseases and drugs in the body affect decomposition, the accuracy of certified cadaver dogs in detecting decedent residual odor, and the characterization of volatile organic compounds across the decomposition period. In bioarchaeology, I have had amazing opportunities to work on historic poorhouse cemeteries as well as ancient sites, including at Monjukli Depe in Turkmenistan and an ancient mass grave site at Phaleron in Athens, Greece. I have also been involved in forensic human rights investigations in several countries, including Argentina, Cyprus, Spain, and Uganda. One of my more recent teaching and research passions is the cellular biology of skeletal pathological conditions.
Mentoring
My graduate students are absolutely amazing. I have mentored 30 PhD students and 29 MA students to completion as of 2026. They are conducting research all over the world in anatomy, archaeology, human rights, and all facets of biological anthropology. You will find them working in medical examiner’s offices, universities, DPAA, museums, human rights NGOs, federal government agencies, and private industry.
Scientific collaborators of the Phaleron Bioarchaeological Project
Anna Alexandropoulou, Eric Bartelink, Ylva Bäckström, Jessica Cerezo-Román, Aviva Cormier, Bronté Cunningham, Thomas Fenn, Elizabeth Hannigan, Lee Hayes, Katerina Harvati, Jessica Hotaling, Gerhard Hotz, Anne Ingvarsson, Fotios Alexandros Karakostis, Anna Karligkioti, Kelly Knudson, Hannah Liedl, M. R. Martinez, Konstantinos Moraitis, Ioannis Pappas, Eleni-Anna Prevedorou, Jessica Rothwell, Thomas Siek, Julianne Stamer, Christopher Stojanowski, Paraskevi Tritsaroli, Marina Velegraki, Lukas Waltenberger, Meagan Walsh, Kerri Widrick, Claire Zikidi.