Current Lab Members

Mark Shriver – Principal Investigator

Dr. Shriver’s lab addresses questions related to recent human evolution — in particular the evolution that took place during and after the spread of anatomically modern humans across the globe. Since it is clear from both physiological and genetic studies that all human populations have a very recent common origin, features (namely, genes and genetically determined traits and disease risks) that are different between populations are unique in having undergone an evolution in the recent past.

Tina Lasisi – Postdoctoral Researcher

Tina is interested in the evolution of human phenotypic variation among populations. Her doctoral research focuses on the evolution of human hair variation. Tina’s other research interests include social perceptions of race and the history of scientific racism.

Jinguo Huang – Graduate Student

Jinguo is a Ph.D. candidate in Bioinformatics and Genomics. She is interested in bioinformatics, evolutionary genomics, population genetics, and facial genetics. Her doctoral research focuses on the evolution of human facial traits and human facial variation across different populations.

Sarah Taylor – Graduate Student

Sarah is a graduate student in the Anthropology department. She plans to look at gender transition morphologically and ethnographically in an ethical manner. Methods she will use include computer simulations and 3D images to see which regions of the face change during gender transition. The results will be quantified to see how they match with a person’s own perspective on their transition and possibly other people’s assessment of their transition as well. One overriding consideration is the ethics of quantifying gender transition and how it may affect the trans community.

Zeenat Salah Ud Din – Visiting Graduate Student

Zeenat is completing her Ph.D. in Forensic Sciences from the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. She has completed her bachelors in Forensic Science with a research focus on Forensic Biology and worked on DNA quantification of bloodstains recovered from washed fabrics. Her Ph.D. focuses on Forensic Biology particularly about Advances in Forensic Molecular Biology and Genetics, her current project is about “Predictive Modeling of Nose Shape Variations on the Basis of Known Genetic Associations”. Her main research area is Human DNA Phenotyping; focusing on the reconstruction of 2D and 3D faces from genes and voice recordings, and biometrics. Currently, she is a visiting scholar at Penn State completing her Ph.D. research work.

Samantha Muller – Project Coordinator/Lab Manager

Sam graduated from Penn State in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science (Biology Option) and a minor in Anthropology. Her research interests include forensic pathology and anthropology, as well as microbiome research and how it could be used in a forensic setting. She is continuing her undergraduate research on the oral microbiome as well as stepping into the lab manager role. She assists Dr. Shriver with coordinating all ongoing research projects, managing undergraduate research assistants, and overall ensures the smooth progression of lab activities. 

Archit Goswami – Project Lead

Archit Goswami is an undergraduate student at Penn State majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Engineering Leadership and Development. Archit’s interests include applications of Computer Science principles in healthcare and human genetics, which he hopes to work on in the future. He is currently assisting postdoctoral researcher Tina Lasisi with the development of her open-source software, fibermorph, which automates the analysis of hair morphology. As project lead, Archit works with Tina and the technical lead, Hyunwoo Kim, to determine project goals and delegate tasks to team members based on their skills. He is responsible for communicating goals to the team and keeping the team on track of goals, recognizing the efforts of team members, ensuring the execution of bi-weekly meetings, reviewing reporting forms, and the team’s overall performance. Archit also trains the team in reporting/meeting structure and communication etiquette and conflict resolutions.

Hannah Marchok – Undergraduate Research Associate

Hannah Marchok is an undergraduate student at Pennsylvania State University majoring in Biobehavioral Health and intending to minor in Global Health. Hannah is interested in the evolution of human phenotypic variation among populations, social perceptions of race, and the history of scientific racism. She is a part of the hair team assisting with the organization and compilation of data.

Kassandra Bradburn- Undergraduate Research Assistant

Kassi Bradburn is an undergraduate student at Penn State double majoring in Forensic Science – Biology Option and Biobehavioral Health with a minor in Chemistry. She is interested in human genetic evolution across different populations and the various impacts it may have on society. Kassi will be assisting with the preparation, imaging, microscopy, and embedding of samples for our ongoing hair variation projects. She will also begin training on human DNA extractions. 

Serena Ryan – Undergraduate Research Assistant

Serena Ryan is an undergraduate student at Pennsylvania State University with the intent to major in Biology – general option. She is interested in the morphology of human facial traits and the evolution of human phenotypic variation among populations. Serena will be assisting with the preparation, imaging, microscopy, and embedding of hair samples for our research on the evolution of human hair variation.

Muggs Leone – Undergraduate Research Assistant

Muggs is a freshman planning on graduating with a BS in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience and Sexuality and Gender Studies. He is currently working on analyzing data that indicates a correlation between bisexuality and genotypes involved in dopamine signaling. After graduating, Muggs hopes to attend med school and become a psychiatrist, in addition to advocating for mental health issues and LGBTQ+ rights.

Hyunwoo Kim – Technical Lead

Hyunwoo Kim is an undergraduate student at Penn State majoring in Data Science with a minor in Mathematics. Hyun’s interests encompass image analysis/manipulation and machine learning. He is currently assisting Tina Lasisi with developing her open-source software, fibermorph. As technical lead, Hyun works with the Project lead to determine the feasibility of goals and timelines and to delegate tasks to team members based on their skills. He also trains the team members on technical skills and the inner workings of the fibermorph program, conducts audits of team members’ work to identify areas of improvement, and is responsible for ensuring the standard of the project. Hyun acts as the problem solver: he is the main point of contact for technical complications will guide team members through solutions.

Alexis Capel – Undergraduate Researcher

Alexis is an undergraduate Biological Anthropology major and Psychology minor and is the secretary for the Anthropology Honors Society (Lambda Alpha) here at Penn State. Her research interests include hair typing, human-environment interactions, and working on upcoming podcasts for the Shriver lab. Alexis is planning on Graduating in December of 2021, so her time in the lab will be short, but she is hoping to make it count!

Winston Lasisi – Lab Mascot and Morale Officer

Winston is arguably the most important member of Shriver Lab. He is a retired service dog and takes his new job as the Shriver Lab Morale Officer very seriously. You can find Winston napping on his special couch next to mom, Tina Lasisi, or wandering around the data processing lab in search of pats. Winston is a very accomplished Royal Standard Poodle and hopes to see you at a sampling session soon!

Muhammad Rehman Shirzad, Teaching Assistant and PhD Candidate in Anthropology, Bioinformatics and Genomics

Abiodun Olowo- Teaching Assistant and PhD Candidate in Anthropology