Laura Shackelford

Laura Shackelford is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and also serves as Director of Anatomy at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Her research bridges paleoanthropology and virtual reality (VR) technology to explore human evolution and enhance educational accessibility.

• Ph.D., Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, 2005
• M.A., Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, 2001
• B.S., Biological Anthropology & Anatomy, Duke University, 1998

Her research focuses on Late Pleistocene human evolution in Southeast Asia, including the discovery of early modern humans at Tam Pa Ling (70,000 years old) and Denisovan evidence at Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave). She also pioneers VR applications to make archaeological fieldwork and human prehistory accessible to students, particularly those with mobility challenges.

Laura’s publications highlight her contributions to understanding hominin evolutionary dynamics, environmental reconstruction via biomarkers, and innovative educational technologies. Her work spans interdisciplinary collaborations in archaeology, genetics, and microbiome studies.

She has secured major grants from the Leakey Foundation, NSF, and National Geographic for fieldwork and technology-driven education projects. Her laboratory, the VRchaeology lab, focuses on VR simulations for anthropological research and teaching.