Gina Agostini-Walesch

The scope of my work varies, but is usually multidimensional, anthropological, generally analytical, and highly collaborative. The projects I enjoy most are ones that combine subjective and objective data to test theoretically grounded aims. I particularly enjoy large projects that combine biological (usually skeletal) and sociocultural data.

While studying at the Department of Anthropology at UMass I learned how to be truly four-field. I had access to opportunities that gave me applied leaning that I now use every day. 

While studying at the Department of Anthropology at UMass I learned how to be truly four-field. I had access to opportunities that gave me applied leaning that I now use every day. I strongly value the fact that I could build the PhD experience that worked best for my goals, from coursework to the focus of my research projects. For example, supplementing my Anthropology coursework with Evo Devo Bio and Biomechanics was very helpful for my current collaborations with Biomedical faculty, dental and medical students. The training in health and sociocultural theory I received through coursework and programs like CHESS* helped me fit in comfortably with my first postdoc team to do work focused on body-related stigmas and my current team’s multisite NIH project. I also value the strengths in teaching I had when I left the program. In terms of professional development, my time at UMASS taught me how to self-advocate, communicate, and politic. Those were not innate qualities or skills I had when I joined the program, but they have been instrumental in my current role as faculty (and beyond).

The skills I gained from studying anthropology are adaptability, flexibility, and lifelong learning. For me, being broadly trained has been a strength, especially these days when so many things around us are in flux. The adaptability that comes with broad training also gave me the confidence I need to routinely shift between very analytical projects in 3D skeletal morphology to linguistics-centered studies of body stigma to more clinically oriented health studies. These may seem like wildly disparate topics, but they are all rooted in human biocultural diversity. So while I am not a deep expert in any one of these areas individually, I know what strengths I can use to help each project be successful, and I know how to trust in the strengths of my collaborators balance my weaknesses.

I try to live my professional life according to two indispensable pieces of advice Drs. Brigitte Holt and Lynnette Leidy Sievert provided while I was a grad student: I recognize that all things, no matter how frustrating or uncontrollable, are temporary, and I always utilize the interstices.

[Interview edited on 2025]