As we say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021, we would like to highlight one of our lab members here at the MSUFAL: Micayla Spiros!
Micayla is currently a third year doctoral student and is also our current MSUFAL Laboratory Manager. She has been instrumental to transitioning our casework to an online platform during this last year and we are beyond lucky to have her! In previous years, she has held positions as a Research Assistant and a Teaching Assistant – all while keeping up with research presentations at conferences and publications. And her work has been recognized at the university level, as Micayla was awarded the MSU College of Social Science Graduate Research Award last year. Congrats again! Before starting her journey at MSU, Micayla earned her undergraduate degree from the Miami University in Anthropology with a minor in Criminology, before continuing on to get her master’s degree in Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology from the University College London where she had the opportunity to work with Drs. Carolyn Rando, Simon Hillson, and Tony Waldron.
Micayla’s interest in forensic science traces back many years – back to the mystery and true crime novels that she read during her childhood. These novels ignited her passion to pursue a career where she could aid in criminal investigations and help victims of crime. While initially undecided on what path she wanted to take within forensic science, Micayla became hooked on forensic anthropology after reading Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson’s book Death’s Acre in high school. This book helped her understand the profound effect of research and casework done by forensic anthropologists. But even now, as a forensic anthropology doctoral student, Micayla has never abandoned her love for the other forensic science disciplines – as evident by her unofficial position as our forensic science and true crime podcast expert due to her great recommendations! (And if true crime podcasts strike your fancy as well, we listed a few of Micayla’s favorites at the bottom!)
As our lab manager, Micayla has been able to dive even more into her favorite part of forensic anthropology – casework. Micayla finds the process of researching a difficult case and utilizing new research and methods to produce answers a truly rewarding process. Additionally, as anthropologists we can bring in more holistic, humanitarian views to the investigation process, which can bolster the scientific framework. This is especially relevant when trying to change systemic beliefs and standards and push for more progressive, inclusive views and approaches in the investigative process. Anthropology truly allows us to understand biology, but also the large spectrum of social constructs, which are essential to true identification and when advocating for victims. In fact, her casework experience is what has been her most fulfilling experience thus far. Specifically, Micayla finds that casework involving child and elder abuse the most impactful, as tragic as they are. This is because these cases represent some of the most vulnerable populations of our society who are more prone to bone fractures. By aiding in these cases, forensic anthropologists are helping to build a case for or against the questioned abusers and thus our work is vital to convicting or acquitting the accused.
Micayla was originally drawn to MSU for several reasons: its standing as one of the top doctoral programs in forensic anthropology, the kind and welcoming environment, and the opportunity to work with Drs. Hefner and Fenton as consultants for local medical examiner’s offices as a student in the program. Not all programs allow students to work on the variety of casework seen here, including biological profile, radiographic identification, skeletal trauma analysis, human versus non-human, and outdoor scene recoveries of clandestine burials and surface scatters. Additionally, she is thankful for her advisor, Dr. Joe Hefner, who is extremely supportive of anything his students want to pursue, whether it is new research project or external appointments. In fact, Micayla worked as an intern in Washington D.C. under Dr. Jen Love her first summer at MSU and has worked with international forensic experts such as Dr. Sherry Nakhaeizadeh, Professor Tim Thompson, and Professor Ruth Morgan. Micayla knows that these experiences will allow her to become a well-rounded researcher and forensic anthropologist.
Now, officially done with course work, Micayla has been able to dive into her dissertation research and has also taken on a positon as a Cultural Heritage Informatics (CHI) Fellow for this academic year. For her dissertation research, Micayla focuses on the ontogeny, or growth and development, and biocultural distribution of postcranial macromorphoscopic variations. And for her CHI fellowship, Micayla is working on a project that aims to provide access to an osteology teaching collection for those with limited to no skeletal accessibility when studying forensic anthropology. Her tool will focus specifically on cranial and postcranial variations that are not well presented in current digital archives. Beyond this work, Micayla has also been pursuing a few other projects related to cognitive bias in forensic anthropology. In general, Micayla is inspired by the applicability of research to victim identification, which truly acts as her motivator for any project she begins.
When asked how her time at MSU has been, Micayla had three words – “busy and fast!” It really is crazy to think that it has already been over two years, but she has enjoyed every moment of it. She notes that the people in the MSUFAL are amazing and it has been really great to get to know undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty across the department. Outside of campus, you can find Micayla at one of our local coffee shops – Strange Matter Co. (with a doughnut in hand), Blue Owl Coffee, Foster Coffee, or even Horrock’s Farm Market, which incidentally also has a huge coffee roaster inside! Micayla also loves to read – perhaps hinted at earlier in this blog with her love of crime novels – and tries to read at least one non-academic book a week in an effort to stay sane during this pandemic. To unwind, Micayla loves to do hot yoga and to bake – which as a member of MSUFAL, I can confirm her skills in baking are tough to beat!!
When asked what advice she has for undergraduate students interested in biological anthropology she replied:
“Get involved and explore your interests. Even if your interests are tangential to what you think you want to research, do it! Interdisciplinary work is so key to research and it is amazing what theories and methods we have yet to explore within our field. Talk to your professors and ask to get involved in lab work, research, or teaching opportunities.”
This piece of advice epitomizes Micayla’s personality both personally and professionally as she values collaboration and keeps an open-mind for all avenues of research. Needless to say, Micayla has been an amazing person to have around the lab and we can’t wait to see where her research takes her next!
Authored by: Rhian Dunn
Don’t forget to check out Micayla’s list of go-to podcasts!
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