What began as a childhood interest in studying the past and human remains has led Dr. Andrea Zurek-Ost to a career in forensic anthropology. She joins the Department of Anthropology as a research associate working on MOSIAC, or Methods of Sex, Stature, Affinity and Age for Identification through Computational Standardization, a project funded by a $2.1 million National Institute of Justice grant.

Zurek-Ost, originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, developed an interest in anthropology at a young age. In first grade, she recalls learning about the excavation of King Tutankhamen and being fascinated by archaeology, mummies, and the study human remains. In high school, her interests shifted toward health sciences. During an anatomy class, her teacher tasked each student with interviewing a health professional. Zurek-Ost wanted to speak with someone who worked with the deceased.

After calling several police departments for leads, she was connected to a graduate student in Michigan State University’s anthropology department. Zurek-Ost was invited to the MSU Forensic Anthropology Lab (MSUFAL) and immediately fell in love with the field.

“I was hooked from that moment,” she said.

Now back in her home state, Zurek-Ost is working with Dr. Joe Hefner, lead principal investigator for MOSIAC. The project involves collecting data from thousands of donor skeletons using a variety of methods. That data will help to develop and train a program that considers information related to the four main parameters of the biological profile: stature, sex, age and population affinity. The program will combine that data into a single algorithm, which will be used to more quickly and accurately bring names to unidentified individuals.

“The unique part of the MOSAIC project will be the way that several different methods come together to produce a holistic biological profile,” Zurek-Ost said. “Something like this has never been attempted at this scale in forensic anthropology.”

Zurek-Ost completed her undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University, her master’s in forensic and biological anthropology at Mercyhurst University, and her Ph.D. in anthropology this past May from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her dissertation work focused on archaeologies of warfare, pilgrimage and ephemerality at a site in the Basque Country in northern Spain.

Drawn to MOSIAC for the opportunity to engage in collaborative and multi-institutional research, Zurek-Ost brings years of experience in skeletal analysis, especially skeletal measurements and morphological assessments—skills essential for constructing a biological profile.

For the MOSAIC project, Zurek-Ost is responsible for coordinating with the managers of donated skeletal collections, facilitating data collection trips, determining sampling strategies, and disseminating the results of the research, including writing grant reports.

“Forensics makes a difference to individuals and also to communities on a larger humanitarian scale,” Zurek-Ost said. “It’s a beautiful thing when a passion you have can positively impact other people.”

Outside of work, Zurek-Ost enjoys photography, playing the piano and guitar, and consulting on bioarcheological projects in Iraqi Kurdistan and Spain. She also mentors students interested in gaining experience with forensic science research.

Zurek-Ost said she is looking forward to the mentoring aspect of MOSIAC.

“Any way you can incorporate compassion into your work is incredibly powerful—it impacts everyone you work with,” she said.