Biography
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.
Areas of Specialty
- Pediatric health
- Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
- Early-life Stress
- Osteology
- Paleopathology
- Dental Anthropology
- Postmortem Computed Tomography
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., Hill, E. C., Anderson, A. S., & Edgar, H. J. H. (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., Corron, L., Hill, E. C., Perez, J., O'Donnell, M., & Wyatt, B. (2025). Skeletal and Adipose Manifestations of Stress in a Contemporary Pediatric Sample. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 186(1). doi:10.1002/ajpa.25058
- O’Donnell, L., Green, J., Hill, E. C., & Michael J. O’Donnell, J. (2024). Biocultural and social determinants of ill health and early mortality in a New Mexican pediatric autopsy sample. Journal of Biosocial Science. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932024000129
- O'Donnell, L., Buikstra, J. E., Hill, E. C., Anderson, A. S., & O'Donnell, M. J., Jr. (2023). Skeletal manifestations of disease experience: Length of illness and porous cranial lesion formation in a contemporary juvenile mortality sample. American Journal of Human Biology, 35(8), e23896. doi:10.1002/ajhb.23896
- O'Donnell, L., Corron, L. K., & Hill, E. C. (2023). Perinatal Disorders and Small Birthweight are Significantly Associated With Small Vertebral Neural Canal Size in a Contemporary Pediatric Autopsy Sample. Spine, 48(11), E158-E168. doi:10.1097/brs.0000000000004628
- O’Donnell, L., & Edgar, H. J. H. (2020). Sociocultural determinants of health and wealth in historic African Americans. Biodemography and Social Biology, 66(1), 69-89. doi:10.1080/19485565.2020.1833705
For a complete list of publications, visit: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4514-772X
Research
Current projects:
- Early life origins of adipose tissue – how do environmental exposures in early life impact the development of obesity and its comorbidities in children and adolescents?
- Porous cranial lesions – what causes porous cranial lesions to form; how does their presence relate to alterations in other biological systems?
- Selective mortality and children – why do some children live, while others die? Are all deaths preventable?
Visit my research website for more information on current projects: https://lexiodonnell.wixsite.com/research
Research and Scholarship
I am a biological anthropologist whose research investigates the intersections between human biology and culture, focusing on population-level health outcomes in vulnerable groups. I seek to understand how inequality, marginalization, and movement impact the lived experience, how they are embodied (incorporated into biology), and how they are visible in the dead. My current work focuses on how social experiences are embodied and manifested on the skeletons and biological systems of children.
I am the director of the Virtual Early Life Stress-Pediatrics (VELS-Pediatrics) Lab. We examine how stressors in early life—those following conception up through 24 months or 5 years of age— impact the biology of children and adolescents. We also examine how physical activity shapes the skeleton.