Research Project
Determinants of symphyseal form in the catarrhine mandible: models of biomechanical and spatial requirements during ontogeny
The mandibular symphysis of catarrhine primates undergoes considerable loading during mastication. The variation between different species in the bony morphology of this region has been hypothesised to reflect the necessary resistance to their respective masticatory loads. However this purely biomechanical hypothesis does not take into account differences in the developing dentition that are housed in this region. Using medical imaging techniques such as micro Computer Tomography, Geometric Morphometrics, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and 3D computer visualisation this project tests whether symphyseal morphology reflects an adaptational balance between (i) the spatial requirements of housing the developing incisor and canine dentition; (ii) the variation in the shape of the dental arcade (and so symphyseal curvature); and (iii) the biomechanical functional maintenance during ontogeny. This study on the catarrhine symphysis provides a useful model with which to refine our understanding of the determinants of adult morphology.
Olga is a member of the Functional Morphology and Evolutionary Unit of Hull York Medical School (HYMS) and is currently employed as a Marie Curie doctoral fellow at the University of York.
This project is supervised by Dr. Samuel Cobb of the Functional Morphology and Evolution Research Unit of the Hull York Medical School (HYMS) and it is also conducted in close cooperation with the Centre of Medical Engineering and Technology (CMET) of the University of Hull.
Research Interests
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Dental development and craniofacial morphology
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Developmental constraints and adaptation in masticatory evolution
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Biomechanics of mastication and of the craniofacial skeleton
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Paleodiet and paleoecology of non-human primates and hominids; stable isotope biochemistry
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Palaeopathology-palaeodemography of non-human primates and hominids crania, postcrania, dentition.
