Dr Kimberly Plomp BA, MSc, PhD

Personal Statement

I am a biological anthropologist with expertise in human osteology, palaeopathology, and human evolution. I obtained my PhD from the University of Durham, my MSc with Distinction in Human Osteology and Palaeopathology from the University of Bradford, and my BA in Anthropology from the University of Alberta. After graduation, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Human Evolutionary Studies Program (HESP) of the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool.

My research focuses on human skeletal anatomy and variation, palaeopathology, and evolutionary medicine. Specifically, I use shape analysis techniques (geometric morphometrics) to investigate skeletal variation of both human and non-human primates. Currently, I am preparing manuscripts for a project investigating the impact that evolutionary adaptations of the human spine have had on spinal health. This project was funded the by the Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellowship program, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Liverpool. Starting in August, I will begin my recently awarded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship project entitled IPACE – Iceland: Physical Anthropology of Colonization and Evolution. This will employ 3D craniofacial variation to help identify the founding populations of Iceland and investigate how the transition to a new environment - along with centuries of genetic isolation - influenced Icelandic variation.