Miranda Karban

Dr. Miranda Karban is Associate Professor and Chair of Biology at Illinois College, where she directs the Human Biology Laboratory. Her research program focuses on forensic anthropology and human skeletal biology, with active projects in cranial development analysis, sexual dimorphism studies, and anthropological investigation of anatomical collections.

Research Focus

Her lab integrates:

• Forensic anthropology techniques for biological profiling
• Geometric morphometrics of skeletal structures
• Osteological analysis of growth patterns
• Paleoanthropological comparative methods

Current projects include anthropological analysis of the college's skeletal collection and radiographic assessment of developmental variations.

Student Mentorship

Dr. Karban supervises 7+ student researchers annually. Recent projects presented at major conferences include:

• Cranial angle correlations with malocclusion (2022)
• Nasal aperture sexual dimorphism (2021)
• Occipital bone morphology (2018-2019)
• Supraorbital ridge development (2017)

Laboratory

The Human Biology Laboratory provides hands-on research with human osteological materials and radiographic archives, enabling student-driven investigations into skeletal variation.