Biography
Dr. Lexi O’Donnell is a biological anthropologist whose research investigates the intersections between human biology and culture, focusing on population-level health outcomes in vulnerable groups. Dr. O’Donnell received her B.A. in Anthropology with a focus on Archaeology from the University of Arizona in 2008. In 2016 she earned an M.S. in Evolutionary Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. In 2019, she received her Ph.D. in Anthropology with a focus on Bioarchaeology, also from the University of New Mexico. From 2019 to 2022, Dr. O’Donnell was a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Mississippi. In 2022, she returned to New Mexico and joined the Museum Studies Department at the University of New Mexico, before joining the College of Population Health.
Dr. O’Donnell has worked on projects in the Southwest United States (Arizona and New Mexico), Colombia, and Belize. Her previous projects examined how migration and racism impacted health in past peoples. Dr. O’Donnell is also interested in heterogeneity in individual frailty and risks and how the nature of skeletal assemblages (the Osteological Paradox) impacts interpretations of health and stress in the dead.
Dr. O’Donnell’s recent work focuses on the causes of porous cranial lesions and population-level health outcomes in contemporary children. She is working on several collaborative projects. One project examines the causes of porous cranial lesions in children. Another project focuses on how obesity and its comorbidities (e.g., non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) impact bone mineral density and bone health in children.
Visit her research website for more information on current projects: https://lexiodonnell.wixsite.com/research
Areas of Specialty
Osteology, Paleopathology, Dental Anthropology, Postmortem Computed Tomography, Social Determinants of Health, Early-life Stress, Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
Undergrad: University of Arizona - BA Anthropology
Graduate: University of New Mexico - MS Anthropology – Evolutionary Anthropology
Doctoral: University of New Mexico - PhD Anthropology
Key Publications
- O’Donnell L, Edgar HJH. 2021. Social determinants of health and wealth at Freedman’s Cemetery, Dallas, Texas. Biodemography and Social Biology. 170(3):404-417.
- O’Donnell L, Hill EC, Anderson AS, Edgar HJH. 2020. Cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis are associated with respiratory infections in a contemporary mortality sample from New Mexico. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 173(4):721-733.
- O’Donnell L. 2019. Indicators of stress and their association with frailty in the precontact Southwestern United States. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 170(3):404-417.
- For a complete list of publications, visit: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4514-772X