An-Di Yim

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Associate) at George Mason University

We report on the functionality, available support, and research capability of the Forensic Anthropology Database for Assessing Methods Accuracy (FADAMA; DOJ DUBX0213). FADAMA is an online repository for case data from identified forensic skeletal cases. The goal of FADAMA is to address the lack of adequate measures for assessing accuracy and reliab...

Objectives Previously developed methods in subadult body mass estimation have not been tested in populations other than European–American or African–American. This study uses a contemporary Taiwanese sample to test these methods. Through evaluating their accuracy and bias, we addressed whether the allometric relationships between body mass and skel...

The first outdoor human decomposition research facility was established by Dr. William Bass in 1980 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Initial research at the Anthropology Research Facility (ARF) examined some of the large-scale environmental factors that contribute to decomposition and time since death estimates. As taphonomic research g...

Recent research observed 92% accuracy for age-at-death estimations by U.S. forensic anthropologists. The present study compares this case report level accuracy to method level accuracy for the most commonly used methods in U.S. casework, drawing from the Forensic Anthropology Database for Assessing Methods Accuracy (FADAMA). Method application rate...

Popular renditions on the history of forensic anthropology have traced the discipline’s roots back to early European anatomy and nineteenth to twentieth-century American research and applications to the legal system, often highlighting the works of several recurring figures. These forebearers are overwhelmingly composed of white men to the exclusio...

Forensic anthropology is shifting to reflect on the impact of its practices within the criminal justice context in important ways. Here, we contribute to this essential work by examining how decedent demographics as well as estimations of biological profile components are related to identification trends in forensic anthropology cases. The study us...

Instances of racial disparities are well documented in the United States' criminal justice system. This study reviewed the literature and conducted quantitative analyses on the role of race in forensic decision making among practitioners and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system. We hypothesized that Black, Indigenous, and People of Col...

Previous studies showed that there is variation in ontogenetic trajectories of human limb dimensions and proportions. However, little is known about the evolutionary significance of this variation. This study used a global sample of modern human immature long bone measurements and a multivariate linear mixed-effects model to study 1) whether the va...

The discipline of forensic anthropology has been critiqued for its lack of a theoretical basis. In response, practitioners often assert that their analyses are implicitly grounded in evolutionary theory. However, the nature of this theoretical grounding is little discussed in the forensic anthropology literature, beyond, for example, statements ind...

The benefits of a diverse and inclusive working environment are well documented. This study examined forensic science literature, demographic data reported from professional organizations, and demographic surveys to compile information regarding racial and ethnic diversity within different subdisciplines of forensic science. Results showed that pra...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy rates and trends in forensic anthropology casework concerning the estimation of the biological profile (sex, age, ancestry, and stature). Identified cases from the Forensic Anthropology Database for Assessing Methods Accuracy (FADAMA; n = 359) were analyzed to explore the following: accuracy...

Modern human evolution is marked by a gradual decline in overall skeletal strength, as a result, humans are more susceptible to osteological disorders. Human chromosome region 11q12-13 has been identified multiple times as a potential region housing gene(s) associated with variation in bone mineral density (BMD). Specifically, two candidate genes–L...

Long bone cross-sectional properties are reflective of mechanical loading environment and have been used to make behavioral inferences. However, the genetic basis of this complex morphology remains unknown. Human chromosome region 11q12-13 has been identified multiple times as a potential region housing gene(s) associated with variation in bone min...