I am a biological anthropologist whose work intersects with several related fields, including bioarchaeology, palaeopathology, paleoanthropology, and evolutionary medicine. I have my BA in biological anthropology from the University of Alberta, my MSc in Human Osteology and Palaeopathology from the University of Bradford, and my PhD in Anthropology and Archaeology from Durham University. Since then, I have held two postdoc positions at Simon Fraser University and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Fellowship at the University of Liverpool. I am now excited to start my next chapter in ASP! My research interests align under an overriding theme: investigating how evolutionary adaptations have shaped modern human skeletal variation and how this variation influences human health and disease. To answer these questions, I analyze the morphological variation of the skeleton of archaeological and modern humans, extant non-human primates, and extinct fossil hominins using cutting-edge approaches, such as photogrammetry and geometric morphometrics. The outcomes of my research are not only relevant for the field of biological anthropology, but also have the potential to impact the lives of people today. For more information on what I do, please check out my webpage at DrKimberlyPlomp.com.

Selected Works

Timbrell, L., Habte, B., Tefera, Y., Maroma, C., Ndiema, E., Plomp, K., ... & Grove, M. (2023). Stone point variability reveals spatial, chronological and environmental structuring of eastern African Middle Stone Age populations. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 1-29.

Plomp, K. A., Viðarsdóttir, U. S., Weston, D. A., Dobney, K., & Collard, M. (2015). The ancestral shape hypothesis: an evolutionary explanation for the occurrence of intervertebral disc herniation in humans. BMC evolutionary biology, 15, 1-10.

Plomp, K., Roberts, C., & Strand Vidarsdottir, U. (2015). Does the correlation between schmorl's nodes and vertebral morphology extend into the lumbar spine?. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 157(3), 526-534.

Plomp, K. A., Roberts, C. A., & Strand Viðarsdόttir, U. (2015). Morphological characteristics of healthy and osteoarthritic joint surfaces in archaeological skeletons. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 25(4), 515-527.

Plomp, K. A., Roberts, C. A., & Viðarsdóttir, U. S. (2012). Vertebral morphology influences the development of Schmorl's nodes in the lower thoracic vertebrae. American journal of physical anthropology, 149(4), 572-582.