Sabrina Sholts is a Curator of Biological Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). She is the Director of the Smithsonian Institution Bio-Imaging Research (SIBIR) Center, Lead Curator of the Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World exhibition, and a World Economic Forum Young Scientist. Her research uses museum collections to explore intersections of human, animal, and environmental health. She has published widely in academic journals such as American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Environmental Health Perspectives, JAMA, PNAS, Scientific Reports, Toxicology, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, and written for popular audiences in Scientific American and Smithsonian Magazine. She received her PhD in Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Human Evolution Research Center (HERC) and at Stockholm University in the Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry.

Article

• Warner-Smith, Alanna, Emmelhainz, Celia, and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2025. "Archival pasts and futures in paleopathology." International Journal of Paleopathology, 50 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.06.001. 2025
• De La Cova, Carlina, Hofman, Courtney A., Marklein, Kathryn E., Sholts, Sabrina B., Watkins, Rachel, Magrogan, Paige, and Zuckerman, Molly Kathleen. 2024. "Ethical futures in biological anthropology: Research, teaching, community engagement, and curation involving deceased individuals." American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 185, (2). https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24980. 2024
• Sholts, Sabrina B. 2024. "“To honor and remember”: An ethical awakening to African American remains in museums." American Journal of Biological Anthropology, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24943. 2024
• Stantis, Chris, De La Cova, Carlina, Lippert, Dorothy, and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2023. "Biological anthropology must reassess museum collections for a more ethical future." Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7, (6) 786–789. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02036-6. 2023
• Rick, Torben C., Duguid, Danielle, Sholts, Sabrina B., Spitzer, Megan D., Wake, Thomas A., and Erlandson, Jon M. 2023. "Investigations at an eroded shell midden reveal direct evidence for fur seal hunting and diverse subsistence strategies on Late Holocene Santa Rosa (Wima) Island, California." The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2023.2183439. 2023
• Morgan, Ruth M., Kneebone, Roger L., Pyenson, Nicholas D., Sholts, Sabrina B., Houstoun, Will, Butler, Benjamin, and Chesters, Kevin. 2023. "Regaining creativity in science: insights from conversation." Royal Society Open Science, 10, (5) 230134. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230134. 2023
• Rayfield, Kristen M., Mychajliw, Alexis M., Singleton, Robin R., Sholts, Sabrina B., and Hofman, Courtney A. 2023. "Uncovering the Holocene roots of contemporary disease-scapes: bringing archaeology into One Health." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290, (2012). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0525. 2023
• Garvin, Heather M., Dunn, Rachel, Sholts, Sabrina B., Litten, M. Schuyler, Mohamed, Merna, Kuttickat, Nathan, and Skantz, Noah. 2022. "Forensic Tools for Species Identification of Skeletal Remains: Metrics, Statistics, and OsteoID." Biology-Basel, 11, (1). https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11010025. 2022
• Sadhir, Srishti, Eller, Andrea R., Canington, Stephanie L., and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2022. "Investigating factors of metabolic bone disease in baboons ( Papio spp.) using museum collections." American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 177, (3) 489–500. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24450. 2022
• Berntsson, Elina, Paul, Suman, Vosough, Faraz, Sholts, Sabrina B., Jarvet, Juri, Roos, Per M., Barth, Andreas, Graslund, Astrid, and Warmlander, Sebastian. 2021. "Lithium ions display weak interaction with amyloid-beta (A beta) peptides and have minor effects on their aggregation." Acta Biochimica Polonica, 68, (2) 169–179. https://doi.org/10.18388/abp.2020_5493. 2021
• Sholts, Sabrina B. and Lippert, Dorothy T. 2021. "Repatriation and erasing the past." American Journal of Physical Anthropology, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24400. 2021
• Eller, Andrea R., Canington, Stephanie L., Saiyed, Sana T., Austin, Rita M., Hofman, Courtney A., and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2021. "What does it mean to be wild? Assessing human influence on the environments of nonhuman primate specimens in museum collections." Ecology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8006. 2021
• Eller, Andrea R., Pobiner, Briana, Friend, Sadie, Austin, Rita M., Hofman, Courtney A., and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2020. "A chomped chimp: New evidence of tooth marks on an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus)." American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 172, (1) 140–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24049. 2020
• Roos, Elin, Warmlander, Sebastian K. T. S., Meyer, Jeremy, Sholts, Sabrina B., Jarvet, Juri, Graslund, Astrid, and Roos, Per M. 2020. "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis After Exposure to Manganese from Traditional Medicine Procedures in Kenya." Biological trace element research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02501-4. 2020
• Pott, Laura N., Austin, Rita M., Eller, Andrea R., Hofman, Courtney A., and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2020. "Population-level assessment of atlas occipitalization in artificially modified crania from pre-Hispanic Peru." PLOS ONE, 15, (9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239600. 2020
• Dong, Xiaolin, Svantesson, Teodor, Sholts, Sabrina B., Wallin, Cecilia, Jarvet, Juri, Graslund, Astrid, and Warmlander, Sebastian K. T. S. 2019. "Copper ions induce dityrosine-linked dimers in human but not in murine islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP/amylin)." Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 510, (4) 520–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2019.01.120. 2019
• Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S., Garvin, Heather, Guyomarc'h, Pierre, Petaros, Anja, and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2019. "Landmark Typology in Applied Morphometrics Studies: What's the Point?" Anatomical Record, 302, (7) 1144–1153. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24005. 2019
• Wallin, Cecilia, Friedemann, Merlin, Sholts, Sabrina B., Noormägi, Andra, Svantesson, Teodor, Jarvet, Jüri, Roos, Per M., Palumaa, Peep, Gräslund, Astrid, and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2019. "Mercury and Alzheimer's Disease: Hg(II) Ions Display Specific Binding to the Amyloid-β Peptide and Hinder Its Fibrillization." Biomolecules, 10, (1) Article 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom10010044. 2019
• Austin, Rita M., Sholts, Sabrina B., Williams, LaShanda, Kistler, Logan, and Hofman, Courtney A. 2019. "To curate the molecular past, museums need a carefully considered set of best practices." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116, (5) 1471–1474. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1822038116. 2019
• Smith, Kevin N., Vellanoweth, René L., Sholts, Sabrina B., and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2018. "Residue analysis, use-wear patterns, and replicative studies indicate that sandstone tools were used as reamers when producing shell fishhooks on San Nicolas Island, California." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 20 502–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.05.011. 2018
• Wallin, Cecilia, Sholts, Sabrina B., Österlund, Nicklas, Luo, Jinghui, Jarvet, Jü, Roos, Per M., Ilag, Leopold, Gräslund, Astrid, and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2017. "Alzheimer's disease and cigarette smoke components: effects of nicotine, PAHs, and Cd(II), Cr(III), Pb(II), Pb(IV) ions on amyloid-? peptide aggregation." Scientific Reports, 7, (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-13759-5. 2017
• Sholts, Sabrina B., Smith, Kevin, Wallin, Cecilia, Ahmed, Trifa M., and Warmlander, Sebastian K. T. S. 2017. "Ancient water bottle use and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure among California Indians: a prehistoric health risk assessment." Environmental Health, 16 61–61. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-017-0261-1. 2017
• Lucey, Daniel, Cummins, Hannah, and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2017. "Congenital Zika Syndrome in 2017." Journal of the American Medical Association, 317, (13) 1368–1369. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.1553. 2017
• Reiner, Whitney B., Masao, Fidelis, Sholts, Sabrina B., Songita, Agustino Venance, Stanistreet, Ian, Stollhofen, Harald, Taylor, R. E., and Hlusko, Leslea J. 2017. "OH 83: A new early modern human fossil cranium from the Ndutu beds of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania." American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 164, (3) 533–545. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23292. 2017
• Lucey, Daniel R., Sholts, Sabrina B., Donaldson, Halsie, White, Joseph, and Mitchell, Stephen R. 2017. "One health education for future physicians in the pan-epidemic "Age of Humans"." International journal of infectious diseases: IJID, 64 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2017.08.007. 2017
• Petaros, Anja, Garvi, Heather M., Sholts, Sabrina B., Schlager, Stefan, and Warmlander, Sebastian K. T. S. 2017. "Sexual dimorphism and regional variation in human frontal bone inclination measured via digital 3D models." Legal medicine, 29 53–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.legalmed.2017.10.001. 2017
• Romero, Ashly N., Herlin, Maria, Finnila, Mikko, Korkalainen, Merja, Hakansson, Helen, Viluksela, Matti, and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2017. "Skeletal and dental effects on rats following in utero/lactational exposure to the non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl PCB 180." Plos One, 12, (9) e0185241–e0185241. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185241. 2017
• Sholts, Sabrina B., Gingerich, Joseph A. M., Schlager, Stefan, Stanford, Dennis J., and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2017. "Tracing social interactions in Pleistocene North America via 3D model analysis of stone tool asymmetry." PloS One, 12, (7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179933. 2017
• Sholts, Sabrina B., Bell, Joshua A., and Rick, Torben C. 2016. "Ecce Homo: Science and Society Need Anthropological Collections." Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 31, (8) 580–583. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.05.002. 2016
• Wallin, Cecilia, Kulkarni, Yashraj S., Abelein, Axel, Jarvet, Jü, Liao, Qinghua, Strodel, Birgit, Olsson, Lisa, Luo, Jinghui, Abrahams, Jan Pieter, Sholts, Sabrina B., Roos, Per M., Kamerlin, Shina C. L., Gräslund, Astrid, and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2016. "Characterization of Mn(II) ion binding to the amyloid-? peptide in Alzheimer's disease." Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 38 183–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2016.03.009. 2016
• Zarina, Gunita, Sholts, Sabrina B., Tichinin, Alina, Rudovica, Vita, Viksna, Arturs, Engizere, Austra, Muiznieks, Vitolds, Bartelink, Eric J., and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2016. "Cribra orbitalia as a potential indicator of childhood stress: Evidence from paleopathology, stable C, N, and O isotopes, and trace element concentrations in children from a 17th-18th century cemetery in Jekabpils, Latvia." Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 38 131–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2016.05.008. 2016
• Lucey, Daniel, Sholts, Sabrina B., Blond, Kara, Costello, Robert, and Murray, Suzan. 2016. "Exploring epidemics: A Smithsonian museum endeavor for the public." International Journal of Infectious Diseases: IJID, 53 82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2016.11.208. 2016
• Neiß, Michael, Sholts, Sabrina B., and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2016. "New applications of 3D modeling in artefact analysis: three case studies of Viking Age brooches." Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 8, (4) 651–662. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-014-0200-9. 2016
• Tiiman, Ann, Luo, Jinghui, Wallin, Cecilia, Olsson, Lisa, Lindgren, Joel, Jarvet, Jϋ, Per, Roos, Sholts, Sabrina B., Rahimipour, Shai, Abrahams, Jan Pieter, Karlström, Amelie Eriksson, Gräslund, Astrid, and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2016. "Specific Binding of Cu(II) Ions to Amyloid-Beta Peptides Bound to Aggregation-Inhibiting Molecules or SDS Micelles Creates Complexes that Generate Radical Oxygen Species." Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD, 54, (3) 971–982. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-160427. 2016
• Sholts, Sabrina B., Korkalainen, Merja, Simanainen, Ulla, Miettinen, Hanna M., Håkansson, Helen, and Viluksela, Matti. 2015. "In utero/lactational and adult exposures to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) show differential effects on craniofacial development and growth in rats." Toxicology, 337 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2015.08.010. 2015
• Bartelink, Eric J., Sholts, Sabrina B., Milligan, Colleen F., Van Deest, Traci L., and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2015. "A Case of Contested Cremains Analyzed Through Metric and Chemical Comparison." Journal of forensic sciences, 60, (4) 1068–1073. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12734. 2015
• Báez-Molgado, Socorro, Bartelink, Eric J., Jellema, Lyman M., Spurlock, Linda, and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2015. "Classification of Pelvic Ring Fractures in Skeletonized Human Remains." Journal of forensic sciences, 60, (s1) s171–s176. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12613. 2015
• Sholts, Sabrina B., Esteban, Javier, Herlin, Maria, Viluksela, Matti, and Håkansson, Helen. 2015. "Craniofacial form is altered by chronic adult exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in Han/Wistar and Long-Evans rats with different aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) structures." Toxicology Reports, 2 472–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2014.12.007. 2015
• Petaros, Anja, Sholts, Sabrina B., Slaus, Mario, Bosnar, Alan, and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2015. "Evaluating sexual dimorphism in the human mastoid process: A viewpoint on the methodology." Clinical Anatomy, 28, (5) 593–601. https://doi.org/10.1002/ca.22545. 2015
• Gingerich, Joseph A. M., Sholts, Sabrina B., Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S., and Stanford, Dennis J. 2014. "Fluted point manufacture in eastern North America: an assessment of form and technology using traditional metrics and 3D digital morphometrics." World Archaeology, 46, (1) 101–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2014.892437. 2014
• Garvin, Heather M., Sholts, Sabrina B., and Mosca, Laurel A. 2014. "Sexual dimorphism in human cranial trait scores: Effects of population, age, and body size." American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 154, (2) 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22502. 2014
• Sholts, Sabrina B., Stanford, Dennis J., Flores, Louise M., and Wärmländer, Sebastian K. T. S. 2012. "Flake scar patterns of Clovis points analyzed with a new digital morphometrics approach: Evidence for direct transmission of technological knowledge across early North America." Journal of Archaeological Science, 39, (9) 3018–3026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.04.049. 2012

Dataset

• Garvin, Heather M., Dunn, Rachel, and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2021. [Dataset] Postcranial osteometric data from human and 27 North American faunal species. Distributed by Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/DRYAD.73N5TB2Z0. 2021
• Eller, Andrea R., Canington, Stephanie L., Saiyed, Sana T., Hoffman, Courtney A., Austin, Rita M., and Sholts, Sabrina B. 2021. [Dataset] What does it mean to be wild? Assessing anthropogenic environments of nonhuman primate specimens in museum collections. Distributed by Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/DRYAD.4F4QRFJCB. 2021