Lauren Swift

Lauren Swift is a Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences (Forensic Anthropology) at the University of Western Australia. She holds a DPhil (UWA), MForSci (UWA), and BMedSci (UNSW). Since 2023, she has served as the field director of the Bioarchaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (BAKSAU) project, leading six fieldwork seasons in northwest Saudi Arabia focusing on ancient human skeletal remains in the AlUla Hinterland and Khaybar region. Her research emphasizes bioarchaeology and paleopathology to understand the life histories and health of ancient populations.

Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to cultural preservation and sustainable development. Key projects include the BAKSAU initiative, a multidisciplinary collaboration managing archaeological remains to preserve Saudi Arabia's cultural heritage. Recent research spans skeletal trauma analysis, Bronze Age burial practices, and population-specific anthropological methodologies.

Collaborations include global experts in archaeology, anthropology, and forensic sciences. Her publications (16 total) address topics like fracture analysis in ancient populations, Bronze Age tombs, and forensic applications of MDCT data. She actively participates in international conferences and contributes to archaeological methodologies for desert frontier regions.