A Path of Passion from Design to Discovery

Two majors rarely heard in the same sentence embody master’s student Maria Fox’s experience at the University of Cincinnati over the past seven years.

“I got my bachelor’s degree in digital design from DAAP and will have my master’s degree in anthropology,” Fox proclaimed.

She picked up a minor in anthropology her freshman year without having any background in the subject. Her interests in history, culture and science led to her falling in love with bio-anthropology courses. Fox did well throughout design school, but her passion still lied in a science-related field.

Her mind was set on going to graduate school for anthropology, so she focused her capstone project in digital design on the Out of Africa Theory and the evolution of human anatomy.

“I want to use my skills in design to communicate science to people. My background in digital design influences the way I try to visualize things,” Fox said.

Excited to start working in science again, Fox applied to six different graduate schools, including one doctoral program. The familiarity of UC won her over with having assistant professor of anthropology Katherine Whitcome as her advisor.

“She is absolutely wonderful and a fantastic role model. She has been the best advisor I could possibly imagine for my master’s. I thought she would be the perfect person to teach me because I’m interested in teaching as well. When it came down to it, the choice was pretty obvious for me,” Fox said.

After adjusting to anthropology, Fox decided on her thesis with help from Whitcome. The lumbar region and pelvis area of anatomy had been a focus of Whitcome’s which led Fox to look at Neanderthal anatomy and compare it to modern hypolordotic humans. This was to help determine how Neanderthals may have walked.

Lumbar hypolordosis is a condition where the lower back region experiences a loss of curvature in the spine causing problems with walking and back pain. 

Hours of experiments in the lab stemmed an interesting result. When the human subjects imitated hypolordosis, it shifted their centers of gravity forward. The acetabulum – part of the hip bone – may have been shifted backward in Neanderthals compared to modern humans, according to Fox’s research. In summary, it appears that Neanderthals probably walked just as efficiently as humans.

Her discovery led to a podium presentation at the 82nd annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Knoxville, Tenn. An award was given for either a poster or podium presentation to answer anthropologic questions using new or classic techniques. Fox competed against fellow master’s students as well as PhD students.

“It was difficult to fit all of my thesis work within a 10-12 minute presentation. It was my first time at a professional conference and my first time doing a podium presentation,” Fox said.

The panel of judges was only planning on giving one award out, but ended up giving her an honorable mention for her work. Having a conference create an award for you is a huge accomplishment, and Fox said she would do it all over again.

“I was terrified, nervous, and excited, but it was a great experience. Stressful and tiring, but fun,” Fox said.