Schroeder Lab
Current Lab members
Dr. mark conaway
postdoctoral
fellow
Mark is a morphometrician and biological anthropologist researching morphological integration, with a focus on the primate postcranium. His research interests extend also to critical measurement/landmarking theory and its applications to geometric morphometrics, as well as simulation of integration statistics. Mark joined the Schroeder Lab in August 2023.
Lavania Nagendran
PhD candidate
Lavania joined the Schroeder Lab in 2019, following an MSc from the University of Toronto. She is interested in identifying hybridization in human evolution when genetic data is irretrievable. Her research involves examining the skeletal patterns (morphological integration, fluctuating asymmetry) of coyote hybrids and their parental populations.
Twitter: @Lavania_N
SArah Friesen
Phd candidate
Sarah Friesen is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. She joined the Schroeder lab in 2022 and she has an MSc in Archaeological Science from Lakehead University. Her research interests are in shape variation, morphological integration, and the evolutionary processes that have shaped locomotor adaptations in the great ape and hominin foot.
Ienas Abdulaziz
MSc student
Ienas joined the Schroeder lab in 2024, pursuing an MSc at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on understanding the morphological variations indicative of hybridization in Neanderthals, particularly those exhibiting a high frequency of rotated premolars—a trait also found in other hybrid groups.
MadeLIne Mccuaig
phd student
Madeline joined the Schroeder lab in 2018 after completing an MSc at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on bioarchaeology, evolutionary process, and skeletal variation, specifically how patterns of variation differ across different elements of the human skeleton.
Christopher kiru
msc student
Christopher joined the Schroeder lab in 2024. His research integrates studies of hybridization with the exploration of genetic drift and natural selection, particularly in mouse hybrids.
ALumni
Undergraduate research students
-
Megat Mohd Hamka (2019) - BSc (Hons) Biology and Anthropology with distinction
-
Samantha Bulchand (2020) - BSc (Hons) Neuroscience and Biological Anthropology with distinction
-
Cathy Tran (2021) - BSc (Hons) Forensic Anthropology and Biological Anthropology with high distinction (recipient of UTM Founders Gold Member)
-
Gabriel Boily-Porter (2021) - BSc (Hons) Biological Anthropology
-
Luca Del Giacco (2023) - BSc (Hons) Forensic Anthropology
-
Landunika Tennakoon Mudiyansel (2023) - BSc (Hons) Biological Anthropology
​
Graduate students
-
Nomawethu Pityana Hlazo (PhD 2024)
-
Amanda Darvi (MSc 2023)
-
Brittany Sparrow (MSc 2023)
-
Preston Walberg (MA 2021)
-
Natasa Zdjelar (MSc 2020)​
