Kaleigh Best

Kaleigh Best (she/her) serves as Assistant Professor and interim Program Director for Forensic Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Western Carolina University's College of Arts and Sciences. A forensic anthropologist and bioarchaeologist, her work bridges academic research with practical case applications in biological anthropology.

Education:

• Ph.D., Southern Illinois University Carbondale
• M.S., Mercyhurst College
• B.A., University of Montana

Research Focus: Dr. Best's primary investigation centers on sexual trait expression variability influenced by intrinsic (biological) and extrinsic (environmental) factors, critically examining implications for sex estimation methodologies. Her scholarship extends to human skeletal variation, taphonomic processes affecting decomposition, and mortuary practices in archaeological contexts. This multidisciplinary approach integrates forensic science with archaeological theory through hands-on excavation experience.

Teaching Portfolio: She instructs foundational courses including Introduction to Forensic Anthropology (Anth 251), Human Osteology (Anth 300), and advanced Forensic Anthropology Method and Theory (Anth 400), emphasizing practical skeletal analysis techniques.