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Samantha McCrane

Biography

Dr. Samantha McCrane is a Clinical Professor of Forensic Anthropology at the University of West Florida, with a concurrent appointment as a Forensic Anthropologist in the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office.

Dr. McCrane is a broadly trained biological anthropologist with dual specializations in forensic and genetic anthropology. Her research interests include human identification and trauma analysis, touch DNA, ethics, human variation, cognitive bias, taphonomy, pXRF, and machine learning.

In addition to her work in academia, Dr. McCrane has diverse applied experience in forensic and bioarchaeological contexts. Dr. McCrane frequently works with medicolegal entities, including medical examiners, law enforcement, death investigators, fire investigators, and ASPCA animal cruelty investigators. She has consulted on forensic casework in Florida, New Hampshire, Maine, Colorado, Georgia, New York, and Louisiana, has first-authored over 45 forensic anthropology case reports and peer-reviewed 20+ others, and has directed approximately two dozen field recoveries. Samantha has also assisted with several prominent bioarchaeological excavations, including the Tulsa Race Massacre excavation in Tulsa, Oklahoma (2021), the Sisters of Loretto exhumation and relocation in Denver, Colorado (2022), and the Penhallow House excavation at the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (2016). She is also currently working on a historic preservation and community engagement project of Newnansville Cemetery, a historic African American cemetery in Alachua, Florida.

In 2024, Dr. McCrane also co-authored a four-field Anthropology-themed children’s alphabet book (2024 McCrane SM and Fry MH. A is for Anthropology. https://a.co/d/1kUAx0g), inspired by her own young son, Cassian.

Degrees & Institutions

Dr. McCrane received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Anthropology and Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, with minors in Arabic and Classics, from the University of Rhode Island in 2017, her Master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2019, and her Doctoral degree from the University of Florida in 2023.

Research

Some current research projects Dr. McCrane is working on include using pXRF to de-commingle thermally damaged remains and identify staining on bone (e.g., tattoo inks, cremation artifacts), analyzing overall patterns of blunt force trauma on bodies from falls, and ethics in academia and medicolegal settings.

Publications

  • 2024 McCrane SM and Tallman, SD. The Ethical Responsibilities of Forensic Science Organizations in an Era of Oppressive Legislative Action. Human Biology. DOI: 10.1353/hub.2023.a933269
  • 2024 Garcia-Putnam A, Michael A, Duff G, Maronie A, McCrane SM, Morrill M. Embodied Poverty: Bioarchaeology of the Brentwood Poor Farm, Brentwood, New Hampshire (1841-1868). American Antiquity. DOI: 10.1017/aaq.2024.35 *
  • 2024 McCrane SM and Mulligan CJ. An Innovative Transfer DNA Experimental Design and qPCR Assay to Identify Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary DNA Transfer. Journal of Forensic Sciences. DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.15444
  • 2023 McCrane SM and Mulligan CJ. An Innovative Transfer DNA Experimental Design and qPCR Assay: Protocol and Pilot Study. Journal of Forensic Sciences. DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.15243
  • 2022 Balk MA, Deck J, Emery KF, Walls RL, Reuter D, La France R, Arroyo-Cabrales J, Barrett P, Blois J, Boileau A, Brenskelle L, Cannarozzi NR, Cruz A, Davanos LM, Hartnak M, Hopkins S, Kohli B, King JN, Koo M, Lawing M, Machado H, McCrane SM, McLean B, Morgan ME, PilaarBirch S, Reed D, Reitz EJ, de la Sancha NU, Sewnath N, Upham NS, Villaseñor A, Yohe L, Guralnick RP, Davis EB. A solution to the challenges of interdisciplinary aggregation and use of specimen-level trait data. iScience. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.1051
  • 2022 McCrane SM, Hsiao CJ, Tallman SD. Implementing an Antiracist Framework in Forensic Anthropology: Our Responsibility in Professional Organizations and as Scientists. American Anthropologist. DOI: 10.1111/aman.13754

Keywords: forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, human osteology, ethics, genetics, touch DNA, pXRF