I am assistant Professor of Archaeological Science and Team Leader Osteoarchaeology of the Brussels Bioarchaeology Laboratory. I use my bioarchaeological expertise to combine teaching with state-of-the-art research. Following a master in Archaeology in 2000 at Leiden University, the Netherlands,  I finished my second master, an MSc in Osteoarchaeology, at the same university in 2012, after which I obtained my PhD in 2019. Just before my actual defense, I obtained a post-doc research position as part of the prestigious Excellence of Science funded CRUMBEL-project team at the VUB, focusing on the analysis of cremated human remains.

As a renowned international bioarchaeological expert, I conduct innovative bioarchaeological research, working together with many different researchers from Europe, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and the USA on human skeletal and cremated remains. I have extensive experience in the analysis of pathological conditions and anomalies, specialising in metabolic bone diseases such as vitamin D deficiency. In 2024, we acquired a microCT scanner with which more non-destructive research of human remains and other archaeological materials can be investigated. I developed a state-of-the-art method for the assessment of age-at-death in cremated human remains and improved sampling strategies of the pars petrosa for strontium isotope analyses. I was the first to demonstrate the potential relationship between strontium concentration differences and the presence of porotic cranial lesions.

Securing and managing external research funding has been a fundamental part of my academic path and as principal investigator, co-applicant, or key researcher, I have contributed to projects ranging from methodological studies to large interdisciplinary collaborations, including the LOCO project (€2 million), Makeup of the Cities (€600,000), and DIMENSIE (€145,000).