Heather Edgar

Dr. Heather Edgar is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico and serves as a forensic anthropologist at New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI). Her groundbreaking work focuses on improving identification methods for Native American remains, addressing critical gaps in forensic databases that have led to misclassifications and delays in resolving missing persons cases.

Her research centers on expanding forensic reference databases through CT scan analysis of contemporary Native American skeletal remains. She leads a National Institute of Justice-funded project that has compiled full-body scans of 1,800 de-identified Native American individuals over age 15, alongside nearly 14,000 other scans. This work directly confronts the severe underrepresentation of Native Americans in the Forensic Data Bank (which previously contained only 59 males and 32 females), a deficiency that often results in misclassification as Hispanic populations.

• Develops methodology to share data with the Forensic Data Bank through a 250-sample pilot project funded by her Women in STEM Award
• Addresses systemic issues in forensic anthropology related to historical distrust of science among Native communities
• Focuses on resolving cold cases dating back to the 1970s, with approximately 300 unidentified skeletons in New Mexico alone

Her research has significant implications for identifying missing and murdered indigenous women across the United States, particularly benefiting regions like the Dakotas, Alaska, and Oklahoma where identification resources are even more limited.

• Women in STEM Award (2020) for "Improving Identification for Missing and Murdered American Indians" project

Dr. Edgar mentors graduate and undergraduate researchers, including PhD student Nikki Appel who works on the CT database project. Her Women in STEM Award funded positions for one graduate student and three undergraduates, receiving over 100 applications for these roles. She emphasizes the ethical dimension of her work, acknowledging the "well earned distrust of science among Native Americans" while striving to build trust through respectful research practices.

Her laboratory work at the OMI utilizes virtual anthropology techniques including CT scans and 3D data analysis, creating new standards for identifying remains in cases where traditional autopsy methods fail due to decomposition or other factors.