Elizabeth Cho

Elizabeth Cho, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Center for Anatomical Sciences
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Ft. Worth, TX 76107
Elizabeth.Cho@unthsc.edu

Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Missouri (2022)
M.A. Anthropology, University of Central Florida (2012)
B.S. (with High Distinction), Forensic Biology, Ohio Northern University (2010)

Curriculum Vitae

Research

Elizabeth studies patterns of both cranial and postcranial skeletal variation in modern human populations.  Her research explores the influence of climate and neutral evolutionary forces on male and female body form through the combination of osteometric, weather, and autosomal SNP data.  Elizabeth’s whole-body approach allows for a better understanding of how the entire human form has evolved in response to different environmental conditions while comparing findings from East Asian populations to thermoregulatory adaptations identified in other regions of the world.  By examining the morphology of both sexes, she aims to improve understanding of climate’s selective pressure on female body form, elucidate potential sex-specific patterns of adaptation, and clarify the relationship between dimorphism, body size, and climate.  Elizabeth recently expanded her focus to living individuals and is currently testing links between physiology, anatomical variation, and skeletal structure.

Current Projects

• Sexual dimorphism, body size, and human skeletal variation
• Asthma and nasal passage morphology
• Testing key thermoregulatory principles of nasal form with living participants

Experience

Postdoctoral Researcher & Adjunct Instructor, Center For Anatomical Sciences, UNTHSC (2021-present)

Senior Biological Anthropologist, Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri (2017-2021)

Forensic Anthropologist & Evidence Coordinator, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Central Identification Laboratory, Honolulu, HI (2012-2015)

Selected Publications

Cho EO, Cowgill LW, Middleton KM, Blomquist GE, Savoldi F, Tsoi J, Bornstein MM. (2022). The influence of climate and population structure on East Asian skeletal morphology. Journal of Human Evolution, 173, 103268.

Cho EO. (2019). Sex estimation of East Asian individuals using bones of the hands and feet. Forensic Anthropology, 2(4), 261-273.

Jin J, Burch A, LeGarde C, and Okrutny E. (2014). The Korea 208: A large-scale commingling case of American remains from the Korean War. In: Adams BJ and Byrd JE, editors. Commingled Human Remains: Methods in Recovery, Analysis, and Identification. Academic Press. p 407-424.

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Grants and Fellowships

2022 NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (#2203808)
2019 NSF Biological Anthropology Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (#1847486)
2018 Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (#9693)
2015-2019 Life Sciences Fellowship, University of Missouri
2012-2015 Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Post-Master’s Fellowship

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Honors and Awards

2021 Mildred Trotter Prize, American Association of Physical Anthropologists
2018 Dorothy Tompkins Gelvin PhD Memorial Scholarship, Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri

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Media

Human Biology Association –  SoS Podcast #127 “A holistic viewpoint on skeletal morphology with Elizabeth Cho” (2021)