Rate My Professor Stephie Loncar

Stephie Loncar is an Assistant Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago, affiliated with the Division of Health Sciences. She collaborates within the Biological Anthropology Research Group led by Professor Siân Halcrow, focusing on projects such as documenting fetal and infant skeletal remains from the W.D. Trotter Anatomy Museum to investigate historical health disparities and ethical curation practices. Loncar's career trajectory reflects a global academic path: she earned her Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Anatomy with a minor in Pathology, from the University of Otago between 2017 and 2019. Subsequently, she was selected as one of only ten students worldwide for the Master of Science in Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee from 2021 to 2022. During her master's, her thesis titled 'Osteoimmunology: The effect of autoimmunity on fracture healing and skeletal analysis' received the Best Project for Forensic Anthropology award, she was named Best Student for Forensic Anthropology based on the highest overall course grades, and she jointly won the Scheuer Medal for top performance in the developmental juvenile osteology module, marking the highest thesis grade in the program's history.

Her research specializations include forensic anthropology, osteoimmunology, skeletal biology, bone biology, and bioarchaeology, with particular emphasis on the impact of autoimmune conditions on skeletal pathology and the analysis of non-adult remains. Key publications feature the peer-reviewed paper 'Osteoimmunology: The effect of autoimmunity on fracture healing and skeletal analysis' published in Forensic Science International: Synergy in 2023, 'Forgotten Children: The Fetal and Infant Skeletal Remains of the W. D. Trotter Anatomy Museum, New Zealand' in Bioarchaeology International in 2024, and a book review titled 'Dying Young: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of Child Health in Roman Britain' in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology in 2023. Forthcoming works include chapters 'The Unborn in Bioarchaeology: Personhood, Care, and Pregnant Person-Infant Health Through a Structural Violence Lens' and 'Introduction: Bioarchaeologists Should Be Activists Too' in Bioarchaeology, Activism and Social Justice in 2026. In addition, Loncar serves as a Research Assistant at Takarangi Research Institution in Dunedin since February 2025.