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Kia ora, I am an anthropologist with over 18 years of experience excavating and analysing human skeletal remains across the Asia-Pacific region. I am passionate about applying my expertise to support the recovery, repatriation, and reburial of kōiwi (human skeletal remains).

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I founded BioArch South in 2020, providing specialist bioarchaeological, archaeological, and forensic consultancy across Aotearoa. My work includes archaeological assessments, kōiwi recovery and analysis, and fieldwork on major infrastructure developments, alongside collaborations with the Ministry for Primary Industries and local councils applying isotope science for invasive animal management. This work is closely connected to my current collaborative research project, which focuses on understanding past lives through bioarchaeological approaches.

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I am the Principal Investigator of a Full Marsden Grant, From Hawaiki to Aotearoa: unearthing stories of early Māori ancestry and adaptation in Te Tai Tokerau. This collaborative project brings together four hapū and researchers from the University of Otago, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and CNRS, and focuses on understanding the lives of tūpuna recovered following Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.

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I received my PhD in Biological Anthropology and BA (Hons) in Anthropology from the University of Otago and have held postdoctoral positions at the University of Otago and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Jena, Germany). From 2017 to 2022, I was a Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago.

Since 2008, I have worked on the recovery and reburial of kōiwi in Aotearoa.

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In 2018, I was engaged as a Forensic Anthropologist for the New Zealand Defence Force operation Te Auraki (The Return), contributing to the repatriation of 36 New Zealand personnel who died overseas between 1955 and 1971. I maintain active collaborations with iwi, hapū, and national and international research partners.