Rebecca Scopa Kelso, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Anatomy Biomedical Sciences
Phone: (304) 647-6319 Fax: (304) 793-6884 Lab: B307 Office: A323
B.A., University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
M.A., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
My research interests focus on the growth and development of the juvenile skeleton under varying nutritional and health conditions. I approach this research by examining both past human populations and living groups, the latter through clinical studies.
My current research focuses on archaeological human remains of child burials in both North America and Europe, as well as studying the effects of obesity on the morphology of the lower limb in modern clinical populations. Specifically, my clinical research focuses on the skeletal effects of childhood obesity on lower limb joint morphology.
This research has given me the opportunity to work with clinicians and academics to document ontogenetic changes in the knee joint with increased weight. On a practical scale, understanding the long-term mechanical effects of increased load bearing on lower limb joints during primary growth have implications for treatment.
In addition to having clinical inferences, my research into the effects of childhood obesity on the growing skeleton informs analyses of past populations, in order to better understand the ontogeny of weight bearing on the skeleton.