sustain
team
Archaeologists, biochemists, palaeoclimatologists, biogeographers and modellers

Maria Ivanova-Bieg
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor at VIAS, University of Vienna. Maria Ivanova's research is based on a combination of archaeological approaches to material culture and collaborations with the disciplines of archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, biogeography and biogeochemistry. She leads Theme 1 (Archaeology).

Richard Evershed
Research partner
Professor in Biochemistry and Director of Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre. Richard Evershed's research applies the principles, techniques, and rigor of organic and analytical chemistry, to tackle questions in the fields of archaeological chemistry, biogeochemistry, and biomolecular palaeontology. Richard Evershed co-leads Theme 4 (Animal husbandry) and co-ordinates the research activity in Bristol, incl. lipid analylsis of pottery and radiocarbon (AMS and CSRA) dating.

Mark Thomas
research partner
Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at University College London. Mark Thomas works on biological and cultural aspects of human evolution, using computer simulation and statistical modelling to make inferences on processes such as past migrations and dispersals. Mark Thomas leads Theme 5 (Agent-based modelling).

Thomas Hickler
research partner
Professor in Quantitative Biogeography and Leader of the Senckenberg Data and Modelling Centre. Thomas Hickler specialises in the interactions between climate and the terrestrial biosphere. He takes responsibility for the environmental component of the project (Theme 2).

Marie Balasse
Research partner
Research director at CNRS and head of the Service de Spectrometrie de Masse isotopique of the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris. Marie Balasse co-leads Theme 4 (Animal Husbandry), directing research on animal isotopes.

Elena Marinova-Wolff
research partner
Director of the Laboratory for Archaeobotany at the State Office for Cultural Heritage, Baden-Württemberg. Elena Marinova is a specialist in vegetation history and archaeobotany, focusing on the relationships between people and plants in the past. Elena Marinova leads Theme 3 (Plant husbandry).

Adrian Timpson
research collaborator
Postdoctoral researcher in the ERC COREX project at UCL, focusing on data structure and exploratory data analysis. Adrian Timpson's research is based around novel applications of computational modelling, statistical methods and big data analysis. He supports the data integration between the SUSTAIN and the BIAD database.
Emily J. Kate
project coordinator
Bioarchaeologist specializing in radiocarbon dating, isotopic studies of paleodiet and migration, human osteology and paleodemography. Emily Kate is currently the Project Coordinator for the SUSTAIN project.

Wolfgang Traylor
Postdoctoral research assistant
Postdoctoral researcher at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt (Main). Wolfgang Traylor works with dynamic and correlative models of past ecosystems. In Theme 2 of the project, he is developing a bioclimatic niche model for Neolithic crops and livestock.

Magdalena Blanz
Postdoctoral reserarch assistant
Postdoctoral researcher at VIAS, University of Vienna. Trained as an environmental analytical chemist, Magdalena Blanz is now studying the past using stable isotope ratio and trace element analysis of bioarchaeological remains and present-day analogues. In SUSTAIN, she is researching the introductions of domesticated animals beyond their semi-arid ecological homelands in southwest Asia into new environments in Europe.

Mélanie Roffet-Salque
Research collaborator