DR. HEATHER EDGAR- D-ABFA
Lab Director
Heather J.H. Edgar, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Forensic Anthropologist for the Office of the Medical Investigator, New Mexico. She became a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology in 2020. Trained primarily in bioarchaeology, the study of human populations in the recent (<10,000 years) past, she received her education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (BA), Arizona State University (MA) and Ohio State University (PhD). She is the project director for the New Mexico Decedent Image Database, which provides free access for qualified researchers to de-identified, richly documented CT scans of over 15,000 decedents. Her current research includes improving the identification of missing and murdered American Indians, and investigating inequity related to mortality, ethnicity, and other factors among New Mexicans.
Contact: hjhedgar@unm.edu
ESTEBAN RANGEL
Graduate Student
I’m a PhD student in the Evolutionary Anthropology subfield. My main interests lie at the intersection of biological anthropology, archaeology, and cultural practices. I received my Bachelor’s in Anthropology with a minor in Geography from Texas State University and my Master’s in Anthropology from Eastern New Mexico University. My thesis project involved studying Andean identity using on geometric morphometric analysis of modified crania.
I am research assistant helping with the collection of 3D landmark data for the Missing and Murdered American Indians project and I am also one of the osteologists for the Belize Paleoindian and Archaic Archaeological Project. My main interests are in bioarchaeology, 3D geometric morphometrics, cranial vault modification, identity/personhood, biocultural practices, mortuary archaeology, Mesoamerican archaeology, and cranial morphology.
Contact: estebanrangel1@unm.edu
JASMINE HERNANDEZ
Graduate Student
I am a PhD student in the Evolutionary Anthropology subfield. I received my B.A in Anthropology from UC Berkeley and my M.S. in Human Skeletal Biology from NYU. MY master’s thesis looked at the histology of the ulna. I was interested in investigating if the attachment of the interosseous membrane, a load sharing soft tissue structure between the radius and ulna, was affecting rates of remodeling. I am broadly interested in ancestry estimation methods in forensic anthropology, looking towards the improvement of broad classifications. My current research assistantship is through an NSF grant, in collaboration with Texas State, that is working to map migrant deaths along the US-Mexico border.
Contact: jaruez27@unm.edu
DR. CORTNEY HULSE - D-ABFA
Post-Doctoral Fellow/ Forensic Anthropologist
Dr. Cortney Nell Hulse is a Forensic Anthropologist at the University of New Mexico and currently runs the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains project for the state of New Mexico at the Office of the Medical Investigator. She is currently working to identify approximately 327 sets of unidentified remains dating from the 1970s until 2024 via anthropological and DNA analysis. In addition to her work at UNM, Dr. Hulse is also a certified investigative genetic genealogist and volunteers on IGG cases through Ramapo College in New Jersey. Her research interests include skeletal trauma and biomechanics, population affinity, and anthropological theory.
Contact: CHulse@salud.unm.edu
BRITTANY WEXLER
Forensic Anthropology Research Technician/Graduate Student
I am the Forensic Anthropology Research Technican at the Office of the Medical Investigator. My role is to asssist the Forensic Anthropologist’s with their day-to-day case load, prepare unidentified decedent’s for long term storage, and maintain the laboratories. I have a MSc Degree in Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Dundee and received my BSc degree from the Ohio State University in Anthropological Sciences with minors in forensic science and chemistry. My master’s dissertation examined whether new technology can improve established methodologies in the surface search for human remains in different enviornments. I worked as an Autopsy Technician and Anthropology Assistant at the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center (WTRFC) for nearly three years before reciveing my current position. During my time at the WTRFC, I performed over 700 forensic autopsies and assisted with numerous anthropologic cases in the lab and the field. I presented a poster at the 2024 American Academy of Forensic Science Conference on the success rates for positive identifcation using multiple fingerprint methods in a Mid-South population. I hope to continue my education and research as a phD student in the years to come.
Contact: bwexler@salud.unm.edu
TRISTAN HERSHBERGER
Graduate Student
I am currently a PhD student at the University of New Mexico in the Evolutionary Anthropology subfield, under the advisement of Dr. Edgar. I received my Bachelor’s in Anthropology from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and my Master’s in Anthropology, with a concentration in Forensic and Biological Anthropology, from the University of Montana. My broad research interests include forensic anthropology, human osteology, bioarchaeology, human variation, sociocultural forces, and evolutionary theory. More specifically, my research focuses on examining how biocultural forces (i.e., the intersection of evolutionary processes and sociocultural influences) can shape skeletal morphology on the population-level. I am beginning a research assistantship on the MOSAIC: Unifying Methods of Sex, Stature, Affinity, & Age for Identification through Computational Standardization project in which I will collect data from CT scans through the New Mexico Decedent Image Database (NMDID).
Contact: tchershberger@unm.edu