Elen Feuerriegel Explained

Elen Feuerriegel
Nationality:Australian
Fields:Palaeoanthropology
Workplaces:University of Washington
Alma Mater:
Thesis Title:Biomechanics of the Hominoid Shoulder: Entheseal Development and Manual Manipulation
Thesis Url:https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/118236
Thesis Year:2016
Doctoral Advisor:Colin Groves
Known For:Discovery of Homo naledi

Elen Feuerriegel is an Australian palaeoanthropologist, known for being one of the "underground astronauts" of the Rising Star Expedition.[1] [2] [3] She is also a clinical research scientist at the University of Colorado Denver where she specialises in COVID-19 AND HIV clinical trials.[4]

Career

Feuerriegel studied anthropology at the University of Queensland (BA, 2011) and the Australian National University (M. Biol. Anth, 2012). She then began work on a PhD at ANU, under the supervision of Colin Groves, which she completed in 2017.[5] Her thesis was on the biomechanics of the hominoid shoulder and its role in tool-making (flint knapping),[6] and included research on Homo naledi fossils from Rising Star Cave in South Africa.

In 2013, whilst a PhD student, Feuerriegel responded to an advertisement on Facebook calling for "skinny, highly-qualified paleontologists" with caving experience. The advertisement was placed by Lee Berger, who was recruiting a team to recover hominid fossils he had discovered in the difficult-to-access Dinaledi Chamber of Rising Star Cave. This expedition was part of a National Geographic sponsored study called the "Rising Star Expedition" and she was one of only six scientists, all women, who entered the cave. Feuerriegel's analysis of the fossils uncovered in the cave were published in an issue of Nature dedicated entirely to the expedition.[7] As part of the expedition Feuerriegel helped excavate the fossils, which were subsequently assigned to a new species of human, Homo naledi. She has a special interest in the functional morphology of the upper limb (shoulder and elbow) and hand and, as such, also studied the Home naledi upper limb bones.

Following this expedition Feuerriegel spent some time working as a part-time lecturer at the University of Washington within the Department of Anthropology before starting work as a clinical research scientist at the University of Colorado where she is a study program manager looking at the long-term effects of COVID-19.[8]

Selected publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Meet the six female 'underground astronauts' who recovered our newest relative. Washington Post. 2017-08-29.
  2. News: Homo naledi discovery: How ANU student Elen Feuerriegel joined the Rising Star expedition. Back. Alexandra. 2015-09-21. Canberra Times. 2017-08-29. en-US.
  3. News: The 'underground astronaut' and her search for ancient bones. Weule. Genelle. 2017-08-26. ABC News. 2017-08-29. en-AU.
  4. Web site: Elen Feuerriegel . 11 October 2023 . ResearchGate.
  5. Web site: Elen Feuerriegel . 2017-08-29 . Department of Anthropology . University of Washington . en.
  6. News: Elen Feuerriegel. Wragg Sykes. Becky. Trowelblazers - Pioneering Women in Archaeology, Palaeontology and Geology — Past & Present. 9 May 2014 . 2017-08-29.
  7. Web site: Australian National University . Student profiles, Elen . 11 October 2023 . ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences.
  8. Web site: Romig . Suzie . 2022-10-23 . Returning to activity is difficult, but possible with long COVID . 2023-10-11 . www.steamboatpilot.com . en-US.