Wildlife Evolution & Behavior Lab

​The first documented pandemic in human history occurred in the eastern Roman Empire in the sixth century CE. We are collaborating with an international team of archaeologists, anthropologists, and scientists, including Dr. Rays Jiang's team at the University of South Florida, to uncover the cause and demographic context of this calamity. Our team is leading efforts to extract DNA from human remains excavated from a mass grave in the cosmopolitan city of Jerash in present day Jordan.