Doctoral Dissertation Research: Assessing differences between biological age-at-death estimations and known chronological age-at-death in humans

This doctoral dissertation research compares estimations of biological age-at-death with known (chronological) age at death. The study assesses if conditions in life (health and environment) impact aging rates, and whether differences in aging rates lead to discrepancies between chronological and biological age-at-death. The results obtained are applied to the development of a correction factor for biological age-at-death estimations. The study contributes to the improvement of forensic methods, forensic identifications, and the study of human populations in the past. This research fosters international collaborations and provides training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students at a Minority Serving Institution. The study collects data from soft (full-body and abdominal CT-scans), as well as hard (bone and teeth) tissues to estimate biological age-at-death. Data from CT-scans is analyzed with AI-based biological age models, followed by statistical analysis to identify patterns of aging rates. Biological age-at-death estimations based on soft and hard tissues are compared with known (chronological) age-at-death. Identified discrepancies between biological age-at-death estimations and known chronological age-at-death are analyzed in relation to social and environmental conditions (including geographic, cultural, and social variables). An age-at-death correction factor is developed by integrating the discrepancies between chronological and biological age-at-death, as well as health and environmental conditions. This project is jointly funded by the Biological Anthropology Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.