Dr. Cassandra Turcotte
Positions
Assistant Professor
Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
Full Member
McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health
Child Health & Wellness Researcher
Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
Contact information
Background
Educational Background
B. A. Biological Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 2012
M.Phil. Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 2015
Ph.D. Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 2020
Research
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Projects
Anthropogenic climate change is becoming a tangible threat to human health and well-being across the globe, but exactly how will this phenomenon alter our biology? The rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago are an ideal organism to model these effects, as the vulnerable Caribbean island has been subject to skyrocketing temperatures and, specifically, increasingly frequent and more extreme hurricanes. These weather events are associated with habitat destruction, food scarcity, and stress. I seek to understand how climatic events disrupt growth and impair our ability to heal and to move as we get older.
The population structure of North America is aging rapidly. Diagnoses of age-related skeletal disorders like osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis (OP) are on the rise, impacting not only longevity but quality of life for millions of people. The best treatments for these diseases are preventative, but many questions remain about their etiologies, circumventing targeted therapies. Using our unprecedented digital archive of rhesus macaque microCT scans, I am able to identify region-specific bone loss in macaque joint spaces. Then with the matched skeletal and blood samples from the rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago, I aim to identify clinical biomarkers of age-related skeletal disorders prior to the onset of symptoms to enable early interventions.
Awards
- R01 Postdoctoral Supplement, National Institutes of Health. 2020
- Postdoctoral Platform Award - 1st Place, American Association of Anatomists. 2024
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