People

Anthropology

Biography

Dr. Laura Cirillo is a biological anthropologist specializing in dental anthropology and age estimation. She received her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Reno, her M.A. in Physical Anthropology from California State University, Chico, and bachelor’s degrees from Mills College and Mount Holyoke College. Her research uses radiographs, CT scans, and international datasets to improve dental age-estimation methods across the lifespan. Dr. Cirillo also brings extensive experience in forensic casework supporting the identification of U.S. service members, as well as osteological consultation involving archaeological collections, tribal collaboration, and NAGPRA compliance and repatriation.

Current Research

Subadult Dental Age Estimation in a Worldwide Sample

Dr. Cirillo’s ongoing dissertation research focuses on creating mixed-data models using ordinal and continuous dental development and eruption data collected from radiographs, Lodox scans, and CT scans of more than 2,500 individuals from 10 countries. The expansion of this work includes increasing sample diversity through greater representation of geographically and socioeconomically diverse populations, developing more detailed models from ordinal and continuous data, testing forensic applications for deceased and living individuals, and creating 3D maps of dentition throughout development.

Radiographic Dental Age Estimation in Adults

Through the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Dr. Cirillo is conducting an ongoing research project that uses linear and area measurements from periapical and panoramic dental radiographs to improve existing adult dental age-estimation methods developed by Kvaal et al. (1995) and Cameriere et al. (2007). The current sample includes identified World War II service members through DPAA and clinical images obtained in collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. This research aims to develop multivariate equations that improve accuracy and precision by incorporating an expanded range of variables.

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