Field of Study: Biological Anthropology - Palaeohistopathology
Briefly tell us about your research: Treponematosis infection in humans has such a complicated and pervasive history, both in the skeletal record and written history. My project histologically assesses skeletal samples from a Solomon Islands population with previously established treponemal infection (yaws) to document the observed changes in remodelling and micro-architecture of the bone. This research provides a clearer picture of what is occurring on the microscopic level, and thus informs what we see in macro-observations. Additionally, this research has applications for medical research and the treatment of osseous treponematosis infection, which currently has no treatment plan.
What is it that drew you to this research?
I found palaeopathology during my masters, though I had always been fascinated by books and documentaries on disease in the past. Histology specifically appealed to me because it can take us to the most basic unit of bone – what is happening at the cellular level that explains the lesions we observe macroscopically. I was thrilled to work on treponemal infection as it has an interesting skeletal response to advanced infection in that it causes both bone growth and loss. I was interested to see how that would manifest microscopically. I find the whole history of human treponemal infection fascinating, and this research is timely given current syphilis outbreak in Australia.
What are your career goals and aspirations?
I have loved teaching over the last few years both at ANU and La Trobe University. The more research I do in palaeopathology and histology, the more research questions I seem to have, and I would love to be able to chase answers to a few of those. Planning for the future with certainty is difficult right now, as the fallout from COVID19 will have lasting effects on how universities are structured, both academically and financially. So, right now I am cautious against “putting all my eggs in one basket”. The two sectors I have been interested in are public health and medical research, as our research in bioarchaeology and biological anthropology can inform both.
What are you most proud about so far in terms of your achievements?
I have recently had a paper accepted on a small side project looking into the links between osteon variants and remodelling changes that I am exceedingly proud of, as it’s been something I’ve been working on in the background for a while now. I was also grateful to be awarded equal first for the Student Presentation Award at the 2020 ASHB Conference last year. After a difficult year of teaching, I was honoured to be awarded the ANU CASS Dean’s Commendation for Tutoring and Demonstrating for 2020.
What is one thing that you have found surprising while researching your focus?
The variability and plasticity of human bone microstructure is really amazing. So many aspects of life go into your bone microarchitecture, which makes reconstructing an individual’s past from these changes both fascinating and unimaginably complex. Treponemal infection is particularly fascinating in that it causes both bone growth and destruction, even on a microscopic level. This, coupled with life-history differences across the treponemal species, has cause some significant variation in histological presentation across populations and studies.
What is one thing about your research you want people to take away with them?
When I talk to people outside of palaeopathology, they are often shocked that treponemal/syphilitic infection manifests in bone lesions if left untreated, and that we can read this infection in ancient human remains. So much of our health is reflected in our bone microstructure. It isn’t just the skeletal anomalies we see in diseases such as treponematosis, but the reflection of entire biological processes changing in response to infection. Sure, we can see the lesions where bone has been removed or deposited in response to disease infection, but we can also see how your entire bone turnover process is changed by the presence of infection.
Palaeohistopathology has quite the history of single or small case-study reports. I really believe that by studying populations, particularly those with long history of health concerns, can better our understanding of both our own human history, but both the history and biology of disease. I hope my research will contribute to this understanding of such a problematic disease, to better understand its history in Polynesia as well as the human response to infection.
Publications and Conference Papers
Karen M. Cooke, Patrick Mahoney, & Justyna J. Miszkiewicz (In Press) “Secondary Osteon Variants and Remodelling in Human Bone”. The Anatomical Record.
Karen M. Cooke, Hallie R. Buckley, & Justyna J. Miszkiewicz. “Novel application of confocal laser scanning microscopy in palaeopathology: A caries sicca case study”. ASHB 2020 Conference
Briefly tell us about your research: Treponematosis infection in humans has such a complicated and pervasive history, both in the skeletal record and written history. My project histologically assesses skeletal samples from a Solomon Islands population with previously established treponemal infection (yaws) to document the observed changes in remodelling and micro-architecture of the bone. This research provides a clearer picture of what is occurring on the microscopic level, and thus informs what we see in macro-observations. Additionally, this research has applications for medical research and the treatment of osseous treponematosis infection, which currently has no treatment plan.
What is it that drew you to this research?
I found palaeopathology during my masters, though I had always been fascinated by books and documentaries on disease in the past. Histology specifically appealed to me because it can take us to the most basic unit of bone – what is happening at the cellular level that explains the lesions we observe macroscopically. I was thrilled to work on treponemal infection as it has an interesting skeletal response to advanced infection in that it causes both bone growth and loss. I was interested to see how that would manifest microscopically. I find the whole history of human treponemal infection fascinating, and this research is timely given current syphilis outbreak in Australia.
What are your career goals and aspirations?
I have loved teaching over the last few years both at ANU and La Trobe University. The more research I do in palaeopathology and histology, the more research questions I seem to have, and I would love to be able to chase answers to a few of those. Planning for the future with certainty is difficult right now, as the fallout from COVID19 will have lasting effects on how universities are structured, both academically and financially. So, right now I am cautious against “putting all my eggs in one basket”. The two sectors I have been interested in are public health and medical research, as our research in bioarchaeology and biological anthropology can inform both.
What are you most proud about so far in terms of your achievements?
I have recently had a paper accepted on a small side project looking into the links between osteon variants and remodelling changes that I am exceedingly proud of, as it’s been something I’ve been working on in the background for a while now. I was also grateful to be awarded equal first for the Student Presentation Award at the 2020 ASHB Conference last year. After a difficult year of teaching, I was honoured to be awarded the ANU CASS Dean’s Commendation for Tutoring and Demonstrating for 2020.
What is one thing that you have found surprising while researching your focus?
The variability and plasticity of human bone microstructure is really amazing. So many aspects of life go into your bone microarchitecture, which makes reconstructing an individual’s past from these changes both fascinating and unimaginably complex. Treponemal infection is particularly fascinating in that it causes both bone growth and destruction, even on a microscopic level. This, coupled with life-history differences across the treponemal species, has cause some significant variation in histological presentation across populations and studies.
What is one thing about your research you want people to take away with them?
When I talk to people outside of palaeopathology, they are often shocked that treponemal/syphilitic infection manifests in bone lesions if left untreated, and that we can read this infection in ancient human remains. So much of our health is reflected in our bone microstructure. It isn’t just the skeletal anomalies we see in diseases such as treponematosis, but the reflection of entire biological processes changing in response to infection. Sure, we can see the lesions where bone has been removed or deposited in response to disease infection, but we can also see how your entire bone turnover process is changed by the presence of infection.
Palaeohistopathology has quite the history of single or small case-study reports. I really believe that by studying populations, particularly those with long history of health concerns, can better our understanding of both our own human history, but both the history and biology of disease. I hope my research will contribute to this understanding of such a problematic disease, to better understand its history in Polynesia as well as the human response to infection.
Publications and Conference Papers
Karen M. Cooke, Patrick Mahoney, & Justyna J. Miszkiewicz (In Press) “Secondary Osteon Variants and Remodelling in Human Bone”. The Anatomical Record.
Karen M. Cooke, Hallie R. Buckley, & Justyna J. Miszkiewicz. “Novel application of confocal laser scanning microscopy in palaeopathology: A caries sicca case study”. ASHB 2020 Conference