Skeletal Biology Research Laboratory
The Skeletal Biology Research Lab (SBRL), under the direction of Dr. Amanda Agnew, investigates the human skeleton using a multidisciplinary approach. Combining anthropological analyses with engineering principles, the SBRL explores bone biomechanics, fracture risk, and assesses patterns of injury in the context of skeletal health. Researchers also explore many topics in forensics and bioarchaeology. Methods of inquiry include experimental techniques, macroscopic and microscopic (histological) approaches, as well as the use of different imaging modalities.
SBRL Project Examples
- Characterizing the material and structural properties of human ribs across the age spectrum
- The influence of microstructure variability on the mechanical properties of ribs
- Understanding the response of the human rib to frontal impact through computational modeling
- Inter- and intra- individual variation in cross-sectional rib geometry and the effects on structural properties
- Microfracture accumulations at dental implant sites and their potential effect on implant success
- Mapping spatial patterns of skeletal remodeling at the femoral midshaft
- Quantifying osteocytic lacunae as an indicator of skeletal integrity
- Understanding age-associated bone loss through intracortical porosity
- The effects of stress during development on the skeleton in a medieval Polish sample
Downloadable Versions of SBRL Posters
Agnew_A Revised Approach to Evaluating Osteoporosis in Human Ribs
Agnew_Microfractures in Elderly Ribs: Contributions to Bone Quality
GochaDominguezAgnew_Human v. Non-Human: An Anthropologist's Cross to Bear
HunterAgnew_Vertebral Morphometric Evaluation of Stress in Modern Pediatric Patients
DominguezAgnew_Patterns in Resorptive Spaces in Elderly Rib Cortices
HunterAgnew_Nonuniform Osteocytic Lacunae Distribution across the Femoral Cortex
MurachAgnew_Geometric Properties of the Human Rib: Application in injury biomechanics research
Agnew_Patterns of Violent and Non-Violent Trauma in a Medieval Population from Giecz, Poland
Agnew_Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip in a Child from Medieval Poland
Agnew_The Relationship Between Microstructure and Material Properties of Pediatric Ribs
Agnew_A Medieval Polish Skeleton Exhibiting an Unusual Pattern of Cranial and Post-Cranial Lesions
Agnew_Osteochondritis Dissecans as Evidence of a Labor Intensive Adolescence?
Messer_Analysis of Human Rib Fracture Mode
Murach_Robusticity in the Axial Skeleton: An example of the rib
DominguezAgnew_Potential Influences on Rib Osteon Area
GochaAgnew_Regional Variation in Osteon Size at the Femoral Midshaft