Leslie Quade

Dr. Leslie Quade is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) specializing in bioarchaeology and paleopathology. Her research focuses on early life stress, dental cortisol analysis, and health disparities in ancient populations. She holds a BA from Columbia University (USA), MSc from Durham University (UK), and a PhD from Durham. Her work spans multiple countries, including the UK, Czech Republic, France, and Italy.

Key research projects include studying cortisol in baby teeth to assess stress in archaeological populations and investigating military mass graves in the Czech Republic. She has secured grants such as the Wenner-Gren Post-PhD Research Grant (2021-2023), FWF & OeAW’s Disruptive Innovation Seed Money (2024), and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (2025). Her studies explore stress in early life, military populations, and methodological advancements in bioarchaeological analysis.

Notable achievements include pioneering cortisol analysis in deciduous teeth and collaborating on projects like the Jičín Observatory mass grave study. She also examines health transitions in historical contexts, such as Post-Roman Gaul and 19th-century child labor in England. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges bioarchaeology, paleopathology, and modern health studies.