Research Interests and Projects

Interests


Ecology of Infectious diseases, Co-Evolution of Host/Parasite, Evolutionary Biology


Biological Anthropology, Forensics and Taphonomy


Natural History Specimens Curation and Preservation, Conservation Biology, Environmental Monitoring


Archaeology, Egyptology and Museology


Field Work and Wildlife photography



Scientific Projects (Selected)


Ongoing


  1. •The Wrath of the Gods: historical ecology of diseases. Main PI.


  1. •TT 29 Universite Libre de Bruxelles excavation, Gurnah, Southern Egypt. Inventory of human remains.


  1. •Social and Landscape Processes underlying Endemism of Malaria in the Peruvian Amazon. With Drs. M. Pinedo-Vasquez (Columbia University), C. Padoch (NYBG), L. Davalos (AMNH) and R. Gilman (Johns Hopkins).



2006-2008


  1. •Hatschepsut and Royal Mummies Project. With Drs. Yehia Gad (NRC, Cairo), Zahi Hawass (SCA, Cairo). Sponsored by Discovery Channel and the Supreme Council of Antiquities. In collaboration with the National Research Centre and the American University in Cairo.



2005-2007


  1. •Scientific/forensic examination of the Copperman mummy (Chile/AMNH). In charge of the forensic examination of “Copperman”, a Chilean mummy of the 7th century AD currently at the AMNH for exhibition purposes.



2004-2006


  1. •Taxonomic inventory of the Black Rock Forest in Relation to Environmental Stability, a voucher-based Field Collection. AMNH-Columbia University. Taxonomic inventory of biodiversity (including small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, arachnids and myriapods and annelids)



2003-2007


  1. •NSF FIBR grant Wolbachia project, AMNH-TIGR-UC Riverside-UC Santa Cruz-STRI-MBL. In charge of creating digital access to Wolbachia project data, including building a multi-platform database. http://research.amnh.org/FIBR/



2004


  1. •Exhibition of the Frozen Mummies of Mount Llullaillaco, Salta, Argentina-AMNH. Scientific consultant on best practices for exhibition and long-term preservation of invaluable human mummies in the newly built Salta Museum. Forensic examination.


  1. •Ecology of Infectious diseases: study of the co-evolution of humans and schistosome worms in the Nile Valley. American Museum of Natural History.


  1. •Salvaging specimens from a freezer meltdown: identification of unknown specimens using mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences. American Museum of Natural History. Supervised and mentored undergraduate and graduate interns in a project designed to develop quality control protocols for the AMCC collection based on techniques of molecular biology and forensics.


  1. •Field Collection Trip, Trinidad. American Museum of Natural History/Trinidad. Collection of chiropterans and arachnids for two molecular projects at AMNH with Dr. Liliana Davalos



2002


  1. •Salvaging specimens from a freezer meltdown: quantitative DNA analysis of degraded samples. American Museum of Natural History.

    Supervised and mentored undergraduate and graduate interns in a project designed to develop quality        

    control protocols for the AMCC collection based on techniques of molecular biology and forensics


  1. •Field Collection trip of Scorpions in Southern Morocco. American Museum of Natural History, New York; Faculté des Sciences, Marrakesh. Set up and organization with Dr. Slimani in Marrakesh of a field trip in southern Morocco in order to collect scorpions species not yet surveyed for that part of Africa.



2001


  1. •Southern New Jersey fresh water fish sampling. American Museum of Natural History, New York; Liberty Science Centre, New Jersey. Joint field trip AMNH/ LSC with the purpose of surveying fish species of the southern New Jersey rivers as well as the level of pollution.



1999


  1. •Population movements in the Nile Valley. University of Oxford (Dr. J. Baines and D. Goldstein), University of Cairo (Dr. M. Samia). Development and field collection trip for the research project on the evolution of the populations of the Nile Valley based on the study of microsatellites on the Y chromosome in both ancient and modern humans. Set up collaboration between the University of Oxford and the University of Cairo.



Projects prior 1999 can be found in the full CV, available on demand