Jessica Hendy

ESR2: Molecular perspectives on slave health and disease
Supervision:  Prof. Matthew Collins
Host Institution:  Department of Archaeology, University of York

About me:

I am a scientist and an archaeologist, with a background in chemistry and anthropology. I specialise in the combination of these two fields and am focussed on how we can use scientific methods and techniques to answer questions about the past. In particular, I am very interested in ancient health and disease. In my previous research I worked on colonial period archaeology, and investigated how scientific methods can be used to address questions of human migration and trade. Using my technical expertise, I hope to contribute to the EUROTAST network by working in collaboration with other researchers to build a clearer picture of health and diet during the transatlantic slave trade. Using novel methods of proteomics and genomics, I believe our network has a chance to examine the lives of enslaved African people in detail, for the first time.