National Institute of Justice Grant

Erin Kimmerle meets with colleagues from
Lagos State University College of Medicine

Estimation of Biological Parameters for Human Identification
in Cases of Missing Persons, Mass Disasters, and Human Rights Violations

Dr. Erin Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology, is Principal Investigator on a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant, supported by co-PI Dr. John Obafunwa and colleagues in the Lagos State University, College of Medicine (LASUCOM). This project is designed to evaluate the application of forensic and biological methods for human identification across diverse populations. The results of this research will be used to formulate new methods relevant to Nigerian populations which will be applied to current cases of missing persons and unknown, unidentified victims. The project further trains pathology residents at LASUCOM in forensic anthropology methods, under the direction of the co-PI, and enables collaborative, engaged research across the disciplines.

Detailed Description
Estimating biological parameters for human identification is a cornerstone of forensic anthropology.  Methods that accurately and reliably estimate an individual’s age, sex, stature and ancestry are needed to narrow the pool of potential matches in the identification process and provide critical demographic data about the population in cases of human rights investigations into war crimes and genocide, where the structure of the victim population is critical evidence at trial.  Forensic anthropology is a critical part of transitional justice initiatives dedicated to locating missing persons, identifying unknown victims, and incorporating forensic science methods into judicial reform throughout post-conflict societies.

The increasing number of investigations into the problem of missing persons and unidentified remains, particularly in the context of armed conflict, terrorism, natural disasters and other critical incidents require the development of new methods and recalibration of existing methods to reflect diverse populations, both culturally and biologically. Interpretations of the degree and specific ways in which populations vary have not always been clear because of sampling or the particular type of statistical modeling used.  As a result, there is an ever-greater need to investigate questions about the degree to which skeletal variation among populations differs with regard to growth, maturation, aging and the effects for individual and population analyses with regard to identification and for robust methods that meet criteria for inclusion of scientific standards in court. 

Purpose
The objectives of this research project are to 1) collect osteometric and morphological data on skeletal and dental traits for contemporary African populations; 2) test the degree of population variation among African, American, and European populations to assess the applicability of methods used across populations; 3) recalibrate biological parameters for identification methodology where needed for American and International Populations; 4) develop culturally appropriate methods and protocols for medical-legal death investigations incorporating forensic science; and 5) train experts in forensic anthropology and forensic science methodology. 
 
The outcome of this research will be unique osteometric and morphological parameters for human identification, insight into human skeletal variation with broad implications for human identification outside of Africa, and quantified estimation parameters for morphological and metric based data.