About Me

Let me introduce myself and this blog...

My name is Susanna Sabin, and I have just earned my B.A. in Anthropology from California State University, Los Angeles. In 2011 and 2012 during my second year in college, I applied to many study abroad programs and internships. I was turned down by many due to my youth, but I was accepted for the Koobi Fora Field School in Kenya and a year abroad at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

This blog has acted as the hub for my fundraising efforts that made it possible for me to attend the Koobi Fora Field School, and now acts as the base from which I communicate with the people who supported me. I am currently completing the book I promised, recording my experiences in Kenya at the Koobi Fora Field School. It is called Six Weeks in Kenya and I will be posting regular excerpts until it is released.

Academics

As mentioned above, I have just recently earned a B.A. in Anthropology from California State University, Los Angeles. I have developed a great interest in exploring the evolutionary relationship between humans and disease from a paleopathological perspective, incorporating modern genetic analysis technologies. I hope that the research I conduct could ultimately lead to informing more effective international public health initiatives and treatment methods. My current specific interest is in the co-evolutionary relationship between the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and Homo sapiens. In my undergraduate thesis, I proposed a unified hypothesis for the emergence of tuberculosis in humans that agrees with the existing evidence and provides a framework for the organized collection of further evidence. I am searching for an appropriate home-institution to help me carry out these research goals. 

For an abbreviated version of my academic interests and accomplishments, see my curriculum vitae below: