Dr Karen Cooke

I am a Biological Anthropologist with expertise in palaeopathology and palaeohistology. Having recently completed a PhD at The Australian National University (ANU), my research covers a variety of interdisciplinary topics, from reconstructing individual and population health through skeletal remains to developing novel technical methods for analysing ancient diseases. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working with ARC Future Fellow Dr Justyna Miszkiewicz, examining bone health through human history.

In my research, I am particularly interested in exploring the biological aspects of ancient diseases, especially the microstructural traces they left in bones. My work has focused heavily on treponematosis and its impact on human health, utilising techniques like confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and histological analysis of undecalcified bone.

Previously, I have worked as a Lecturer and Demonstrator at ANU and La Trobe University, teaching human osteology, palaeopathology, and genomics. As a research assistant, I worked under the supervision of Dr Justyna Miszkiewicz and Professor Alison Behie at ANU, contributing to projects on peri-natal health in response to natural disasters, primatology and natural resource usage, and bone health and osteoporosis. Outside of academica, I have experience as a Forensics Officer with Victoria Police and working in tissue culture labs at CSIRO.