In the Lab

Dr. Elizabeth (Ebeth) Sawchuk is a bioarchaeologist who studies modern human evolution and population history in Africa over the past 50,000 years. Her interests include how herding and farming spread into sub-Saharan Africa beginning approximately 5,000 years ago, and how ancient peoples navigated issues of climate change, shifting economic and land-use strategies, and contact with foreign groups. Her work integrates diverse lines of evidence from archaeology, skeletal biology, dental anthropology, and ancient DNA to understand how past peoples coped with major changes in their world and what lessons can be learned from their experiences.

Dr. Sawchuk has worked at field sites across eastern Africa and maintains an active research program in Kenya in collaboration with the Turkana Basin Institute and the National Museums of Kenya. Her research has been published in journals such as Antiquity, African Archaeological Review, the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Nature, Science, Science Advances, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and PLOS One (for more information, check out Dr. Sawchuk’s Google Scholar profile). Her work is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Turkana Basin Institute, and the National Geographic Society.

Dr. Sawchuk advocates for ethical research in anthropology; community-based approaches; and equity, diversity, and inclusion. She is committed to fostering equitable partnerships between archaeologists, curators, and the communities with whom they work, as well as developing best practices for museums’ stewardship of and policies for research on human remains. Recently, she co-organized the first ancient DNA and DNA conference held in Africa, hosted by the National Museums of Kenya.

Dr. Sawchuk earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Toronto and bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in anthropology, from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, she served as Banting Postdoctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta, Canada. She holds additional academic affiliations as an Adjunct Professor in Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio; a Research Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University, New York; and a Research Associate with the Turkana Basin Institute, Kenya.

Research areas: Bioarchaeology, ethics, health and disease, dental anthropology, ancient DNA, Africa

Garrett Ormiston is the Manager of Preserve Operations for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's Natural Areas Program. In this role, he helps to oversee about 12,500 acres of natural habitat in Northeast Ohio. Each of the Museum's preserves represents one or more different ecosystems that occur in this region. Ormiston works on land-conservation projects for the Museum, and helps to direct land-management and stewardship operations on the preserves.

Dr. Caitlin Colleary is a vertebrate paleontologist with expertise in the molecules that preserve in fossilized bone. She is particularly interested in the question "What is a fossil?" In the last few decades, it has become clear that this question is much more nuanced than previously considered and that original biological information has the potential to preserve on long timescales.

Dr. Colleary explores how incorporating new techniques and technology can make it possible to examine fossils on a molecular scale, uncovering information previously inaccessible. She has studied pigment preservation in fossilized soft tissues and integument. She is especially interested in fossils that are not considered to be exceptionally preserved, such as bones and teeth, which are commonly found in the fossil record but may also contain soft tissues. Discovering and studying soft tissues and molecular data in the fossil record have the potential to expand what we currently know about ancient animals.

Dr. Colleary started her academic journey at Los Angeles Valley College and transferred to UCLA, where she received a B.A. in anthropology. She received her M.Sc. in paleobiology from the University of Bristol and her Ph.D. in geosciences from Virginia Tech. Before joining the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in January 2020, she was the Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute.

McKenzie Hart is an experienced beauty and personal care scientist with over a decade of industry experience spanning formulation, product development, and customer-facing technical service. She brings a rare combination of deep cosmetic chemistry expertise and strong commercial acumen, enabling her to translate complex ingredient technologies into real-world customer value.

Currently, McKenzie serves as a Technical Service Scientist in Beauty at The Lubrizol Corporation, where she partners closely with sales teams to support strategic growth initiatives. In this role, she delivers hands-on formulation support, customized technical solutions, and in-depth customer training that drive product adoption, improve customer retention, and increase revenue. She is widely recognized for her proactive problem-solving approach, collaborative mindset, and ability to influence outcomes through technical credibility and trusted client relationships.

Prior to Lubrizol, McKenzie held formulation and R&D roles at Natural Essentials, Blistex, and Universal Beauty Products, where she led the development of cosmetic and OTC products from concept through manufacturing. Her experience includes integrating emerging supplier technologies, managing scale-up challenges, conducting stability and compatibility testing, and supporting quality and regulatory compliance. Earlier in her career, she supported both product and package development at Kao Corporation, contributing to the John Frieda Hair Care Shades portfolio.

McKenzie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati. She is highly collaborative, self-motivated, and results-driven, with a passion for innovation, customer success, and advancing science-led solutions in the beauty industry.

Ken Schneider is the Administrative Coordinator for Research & Collections and Natural Areas at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He has been with the Museum since 2015, initially as a Seasonal Land Steward, then as Mentor Marsh Restoration Manager. Prior to coming to the Museum, Schneider worked in the nonprofit world, as a bookseller, and for many years in book publishing. Along with his colleagues, he is a 2019 recipient of the Natural Areas Association’s Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award, granted in recognition of excellence in the management and restoration of the Museum’s Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve.

Dr. Caitlin Colleary is a vertebrate paleontologist with expertise in the molecules that preserve in fossilized bone. She is particularly interested in the question "What is a fossil?" In the last few decades, it has become clear that this question is much more nuanced than previously considered and that original biological information has the potential to preserve on long timescales.

Dr. Colleary explores how incorporating new techniques and technology can make it possible to examine fossils on a molecular scale, uncovering information previously inaccessible. She has studied pigment preservation in fossilized soft tissues and integument. She is especially interested in fossils that are not considered to be exceptionally preserved, such as bones and teeth, which are commonly found in the fossil record but may also contain soft tissues. Discovering and studying soft tissues and molecular data in the fossil record have the potential to expand what we currently know about ancient animals.

Dr. Colleary started her academic journey at Los Angeles Valley College and transferred to UCLA, where she received a B.A. in anthropology. She received her M.Sc. in paleobiology from the University of Bristol and her Ph.D. in geosciences from Virginia Tech. Before joining the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in January 2020, she was the Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute.

Kelly Tapager Fox is a Collections Manager at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. She has a master’s degree in bioarchaeology, specializing in human and animal skeletal remains, and has worked on archaeological sites on the East Coast and in England. She is currently overseeing the inventory and move of the Museum’s extensive archaeological collections.

Kelly Tapager Fox is a Collections Manager at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. She has a master’s degree in bioarchaeology, specializing in human and animal skeletal remains, and has worked on archaeological sites on the East Coast and in England. She is currently overseeing the inventory and move of the Museum’s extensive archaeological collections.

Dr. Nicole Burt began working at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 2014. Her position as Curator of Human Health & Evolutionary Medicine is part of the legacy of the Museum’s 2007 merger with HealthSpace Cleveland, which made human health a cornerstone of the Museum’s mission and programming. Dr. Burt facilitates the Museum’s ongoing commitment and connection to Cleveland’s medical and health communities. She is an advocate for fostering equitable partnerships between scientists, museums, and the communities with whom they work. As part of this commitment, she has taken on service roles to support community health in Cleveland, such as serving as co-chair and a member of the Cleveland Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition Steering Committee.

Dr. Burt is a biological anthropologist who works with both archaeological and modern human populations. Her research centers around the question “What does it mean to be healthy?” and utilizes the best research and educational practices to promote understanding and empower the Museum community to take action. Her interdisciplinary approach combines many methods, including histology, molecular analysis, and even interviews, to explore health through the lens of evolutionary medicine. Methods formation and testing are a key part of her research program, with a focus on microsampling innovation and applying techniques to new fields. In addition to her anthropological research, Dr. Burt contributes to the literature on bioethics in museums, informal learning pedagogy, and creating evolutionary medicine–informed curricula for medical education.

Much of Dr. Burt’s anthropological research uses a technique called stable isotope analysis, which measures the ratio of heavy to light stable isotopes—forms of elements (e.g., carbon or nitrogen) that have the same atomic number but a different number of neutrons—in a sample. Isotopes can be used to reconstruct past diets, study migration, or understand molecular preservation of samples. Dr. Burt’s microsampling technique even allows for reconstruction of maternal diet during pregnancy by analyzing the formation of recovered baby teeth.

Dr. Burt earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Alberta, a master's degree in forensic science from Michigan State University, and a bachelor's degree from Beloit College.

Research areas: Diet and health, food access, bioethics, early-childhood feeding practice, One Health, osteology, stable isotope reconstruction, methods testing, informal learning pedagogy