group logo by Chelsea Morgan
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Our histology lab (229) is located in the Banks Building on the ANU campus (44 Linnaeus Way). I supply hard tissue processing training, protocols, and expertise.
Our lab equipment is funded in most part by ANU internal grants from various different budget pots (ANU Major Equipment Grant, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology), and most recently by the Australian Research Council. |
Early on, we received in kind lab ware from the ANU Research School of Biology. We continue to receive in kind support from the ANU John Curtin School of Medical Research, and ANU Medical School. I also regularly recycle vintage histology items such as beautiful wooden slide trays donated by various microscopists over the years (e.g. Dr Doreen Bowdery - a phytolith expert, and Dr Paul Cooper - insect physiology expert). It has taken me ~5 years to establish this lab!
Our equipment includes: two Olympus BX53 with DP74 camera microscopes (one with a rotating stage), one Olympus BX50 with a Lumenera’s INFINITY1-2 2.0 megapixel CMOS digital camera microscope, one Buehler EcoMet 300/AutoMet 300 Pro Touchscreen grinder-polisher, one confocal microscope Olympus OLS5000, one Kemet MICRACUT Precision Cutters (another one will be purchased in 2021). We also have two fume hoods.
We are nested within the discipline of biological anthropology in the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Research School of Humanities and the Arts (RSHA), College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS). We occupy what used to be a Zoology and Botany department on the ANU campus, which is very cool because we have heaps of lab space!
Our equipment includes: two Olympus BX53 with DP74 camera microscopes (one with a rotating stage), one Olympus BX50 with a Lumenera’s INFINITY1-2 2.0 megapixel CMOS digital camera microscope, one Buehler EcoMet 300/AutoMet 300 Pro Touchscreen grinder-polisher, one confocal microscope Olympus OLS5000, one Kemet MICRACUT Precision Cutters (another one will be purchased in 2021). We also have two fume hoods.
We are nested within the discipline of biological anthropology in the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Research School of Humanities and the Arts (RSHA), College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS). We occupy what used to be a Zoology and Botany department on the ANU campus, which is very cool because we have heaps of lab space!
My own training
Running a lab is super rewarding, but not easy! Over the years I've been lucky to learn sample preparation and examination techniques from skeletal biology giants all over the world. I continuously try to improve my skills wherever/whenever possible.
In brief, my technical experience, from more advanced to beginner, either using human or animal models (or both) includes:
2020 wombat bone dissection at Tasmania Parks and Wildlife; with Dr Georgia Roberts
2019 human bone oxygen isotope collection using Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) at ANU; with Dr Bin Fu
2018 3D laser confocal scanning of human and animal bones and teeth at ANU and Olympus Sydney
2018 mouse bone phenotyping (2D and 3D) at University of Sydney; with Prof Natalie Sims and Dr Tara Speranza
2017 advanced bone histology preparation and imaging at New York University (sheep samples); with Prof Tim Bromage
2017 synchrotron-source infrared microspectroscopy (human bone phosphate and carbonate collection) at ANSTO Synchrotron Facility in Melbourne; with Prof Natalie Sims, Dr Christina Vrahnas, Dr Mark Tobin, Dr Jitraporn (Pimm) Vongsvivut
2015 quail and mouse bone micro-computed tomography, Faxitron radiography, Instron biomechanical testing, mouse bone dissection, quail bone maceration and decalcification at Department of Medicine Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London; with Prof Duncan Bassett, Prof Graham Williams, Dr John Logan, Dr Natalie Butterfield, Dr Jayashree Chakraborty
2014 human bone atomic force microscopy (Young’s modulus in bone) at University of Kent; with Dr Wei-Feng Xue
2010 human and frog hard tissue histology (bones and teeth) at University of Kent; with Dr Patrick Mahoney
When it comes to sectioning bones and teeth, I'm really more than excited to work on any specimens that land on my desk so to speak. Despite my interest being mainly humans, I think it's very important to be studying other vertebrates as well - comparative micro-anatomy helps me better understand the complexity of skeletal tissue growth.
We now have a collection, or a 'library', of thin sections that is growing day by day. It mainly includes human bone and tooth samples, but we also have some other vertebrates (including rat femora, kangaroo limb bones and ribs, wombat humeri, crocodile teeth, tortoise humeri, microbat limb bones, dugong ribs, cow femora, pig teeth and ribs, deer ribs, hippo ribs, elephant ribs and limb bones). Our specimens span thousands (and in some fossil cases millions!) of years and cover multiple different parts of the world, with a focus on Asia-Pacific.
The collection has been possible to set up and study thanks to my wonderful international and domestic collaborators, who share/ donate samples for research, and constructively assist with analyses, including:
Running a lab is super rewarding, but not easy! Over the years I've been lucky to learn sample preparation and examination techniques from skeletal biology giants all over the world. I continuously try to improve my skills wherever/whenever possible.
In brief, my technical experience, from more advanced to beginner, either using human or animal models (or both) includes:
2020 wombat bone dissection at Tasmania Parks and Wildlife; with Dr Georgia Roberts
2019 human bone oxygen isotope collection using Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) at ANU; with Dr Bin Fu
2018 3D laser confocal scanning of human and animal bones and teeth at ANU and Olympus Sydney
2018 mouse bone phenotyping (2D and 3D) at University of Sydney; with Prof Natalie Sims and Dr Tara Speranza
2017 advanced bone histology preparation and imaging at New York University (sheep samples); with Prof Tim Bromage
2017 synchrotron-source infrared microspectroscopy (human bone phosphate and carbonate collection) at ANSTO Synchrotron Facility in Melbourne; with Prof Natalie Sims, Dr Christina Vrahnas, Dr Mark Tobin, Dr Jitraporn (Pimm) Vongsvivut
2015 quail and mouse bone micro-computed tomography, Faxitron radiography, Instron biomechanical testing, mouse bone dissection, quail bone maceration and decalcification at Department of Medicine Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London; with Prof Duncan Bassett, Prof Graham Williams, Dr John Logan, Dr Natalie Butterfield, Dr Jayashree Chakraborty
2014 human bone atomic force microscopy (Young’s modulus in bone) at University of Kent; with Dr Wei-Feng Xue
2010 human and frog hard tissue histology (bones and teeth) at University of Kent; with Dr Patrick Mahoney
When it comes to sectioning bones and teeth, I'm really more than excited to work on any specimens that land on my desk so to speak. Despite my interest being mainly humans, I think it's very important to be studying other vertebrates as well - comparative micro-anatomy helps me better understand the complexity of skeletal tissue growth.
We now have a collection, or a 'library', of thin sections that is growing day by day. It mainly includes human bone and tooth samples, but we also have some other vertebrates (including rat femora, kangaroo limb bones and ribs, wombat humeri, crocodile teeth, tortoise humeri, microbat limb bones, dugong ribs, cow femora, pig teeth and ribs, deer ribs, hippo ribs, elephant ribs and limb bones). Our specimens span thousands (and in some fossil cases millions!) of years and cover multiple different parts of the world, with a focus on Asia-Pacific.
The collection has been possible to set up and study thanks to my wonderful international and domestic collaborators, who share/ donate samples for research, and constructively assist with analyses, including:
- A/Prof Bui Van Liem - Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Dr Nawaporn Techataweewan - Department of Anatomy, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
- Dr Patrick Mahoney - School of Anthropology & Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Prof Geoff Clark, Prof Sue O'Connor - Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia & the Pacific, ANU, Australia
- Dr Rachel Li - The John Curtin Medical School of Research, ANU, Australia
- Dr Rita Hardiman - Dental & Medical School, University of Melbourne, Australia
- A/Prof Julien Louys - Australian Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia
- Prof Marshall Weisler - School of Archaeology, University of Queensland, Australia
- Dr Gilbert Price - School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Dr Frederique Valentin - French National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris, France
- Dr Rebecca Kinaston, Prof Hallie Buckley, A/Prof Siân Halcrow - Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, New Zealand
- Dr Arkadiusz Soltysiak, Dr Rafal Fetner - Department of Bioarchaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland
- Dr Alexandra van der Geer - Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
- Prof Philip Piper - Archaeology, School of Archaeology & Anthropology, ANU, Australia
- Dr Eline Schotsmans - Archaeology, University of Wollongong, Australia
- Prof Marc Oxenham - Archaeology, University of Aberdeen/ ANU
Prepared slides ready for microscope examination
All work on human remains undertaken in the lab is justified by a rigorous and well planned/ thought out study design so as to avoid the destruction of often irreplaceable archaeological samples. We adhere to discipline standards and guidelines that relate to lab processing of human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts. Where necessary, projects are also reviewed by relevant ethics boards