South Africa
Archaeology, Lucy Cavendish College
PhD thesis: How did the human brain evolve? Tracking cerebral changes in the fossil hominin record using advanced imaging techniques and 3D modelling
Research interests:
1. Anatomy
2. Neuroscience
3. Human evolution
4. Medical imaging
Since the brain does not fossilize, modern non-destructive imaging methodologies have significantly improved our understanding of hominin brain evolution by enabling researchers to rely on the inner table of the cranial vault to study morphological brain variations of fossil hominins.
My PhD focuses on key questions concerning the timing and emergence of derived cerebral features of modern humans. Using imaging techniques, which affords new reconstruction capabilities of the most fragmented specimens, I aim to revise the fossil hominin record by tracking structural changes in the brain of our ancestors and their relatives, by quantitatively assessing brain sulcal pattern variation in extant and fossil hominoid endocasts. We will subsequently develop a new protocol, harnessing the benefits of modern imaging techniques, virtual atlases, and AI, to establish a virtual database used for identifying cerebral changes in the fossil record.
Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?
Growing up with local exposure to the formidable palaeoscientific contributions made in South Africa by great scientists like Prof. P Tobias and Prof. R Dart, and trained by a group of exceptionally inspirational mentors (all with unique backgrounds in anatomy and palaeoanthropology) during my early postgraduate life inspired me to combine my educational foundation in clinical anatomy with my keen interests in neuroscience and human evolution, to study the rich fossil record of the African continent; and thereby contribute to long standing questions concerning the evolutionary changes of the hominin brain.