Erin C. Blankenship-Sefczek, BA, MA, PhD
Assistant Professor
Contact
School of Dentistry
Oral Biology
Faculty - Dentistry
School of Dentistry 439B
Erin C. Blankenship-Sefczek, BA, MA, PhD
Assistant Professor
Dr. Erin
Blankenship-Sefczek is a teaching-research tenure track faculty member in the
Department of Oral Biology. She is a dental histologist and skeletal biologist
by training, specializing in bioarchaeology and dental anthropology. Dr.
Blankenship-Sefczek received her BA and MA in anthropology from San Diego
State University and her Ph.D. in anthropology from Ohio State
University. Her primary research program explores questions about
associations between dental characteristics and developmental stress markers in
past populations across the globe. Her secondary program focuses on exploring
patterns of resiliency related to frailty and survivorship in past populations.
These projects are collaborative efforts with national and international
professionals. Dr. Blankenship-Sefczek has taught a variety of courses in
undergraduate, graduate, and professional students since 2011. She has worked
as a Teaching Consultant or Faculty Associate in teaching centers at multiple
institutions including Ohio State University, University of Nebraska-Omaha, and
Creighton University.
Visit Dr.
Blankenship-Sefczek’s website for more information and to connect about collaborations.
Curriculum Vitae
Teaching Interests
- Biological Anthropology
Research Focus
I have several ongoing research projects.- My primary research program explores questions about associations between dental stress markers (non-destructve micro and macro) and variation of adult molar form in past populations around the globe. This project is funded by the HSSIF.
- My secondary research program focuses on the application of dental data within analyses of frailty and survivorship in past populations. The project includes national and international collaborators.
- Through the Bioarchaeology Research Lab, we explore complexities of the ancient Maya social system and its impact on biological health. These collections are open for non-destructive study by qualified students and researchers. For more information and to discuss opportunities for research, contact me at ErinBlankenship-Sefczek@creighton.edu and visit my website.
Department
Oral Biology
Position
Assistant Professor
Articles
- Dental Anthropology
Erin Blankenship-Sefczek, Alper Yener Yavuz, Ahmet Ihsan Aytek An unusual pairing: earliest evidence of fusion between a mandibular third molar and distomolar in Türkiye. The presence of supernumerary and fused teeth are each rare dental anomalies in past and present populations. This study provides evidence of the co-occurrence of these two dental anomalies in an ancient Turkish population and contextualize them within the prevalences reported through time in this region.
39 2026 - PLoS One
Erin Blankenship-Sefczek, Alan H Goodman, Mark Hubbe, John P Hunter, Timothy M Sefczek, Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg Tracing early life stress in human molar morphology: Associations between linear enamel hypoplasia and maxillary first molar form. Permanent tooth structures can respond to environmental disruptions even after the initiation of hard tissue deposition at the cusp tips, affecting dental morphology. This study assessed associations between LEH formed during maxillary permanent first molar development and dental characteristics of these molars in contemporary humans with known health and nutritional histories from Tezonteopan, Mexico. Our findings support the growing body of studies highlighting the unpredictability of molar morphology in the presence of developmental disruptions. 2026 - PLoS One
Erin Blankenship-Sefczek, Alan H Goodman, Mark Hubbe, John P Hunter, Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg Nutrition stress, tooth crown size and dental characteristics in a population sample from Tezonteopan, Mexico. Understanding how epigenetic factors impact dental phenotypes can help refine the use of teeth for elucidating biological relationships among human populations. We explored relationships among crown size, principal cusp spacing, and accessory cusp expression in maxillary dental casts of nutritionally supplemented (n = 34) and non-supplemented (n = 39) individuals from Tezonteopan, Mexico. Overall, our findings suggest that nutritional stress may affect accessory cusp expression. 2024 - Ancient Mesoamerica
Erin Blankenship-Sefczek, Joseph W Ball, Jennifer Taschek First steps-Dentition, kinship, social group, and stats in the Upper Belize River Valley: Small sample insights into Classic Maya social organization in Central Western Belize. Nonmetric (morphological) and metric analyses of dental traits and dentition are an established and effective, but still much underutilized, means of determining biological relationships among the individuals comprising a population over several generations. The study differs from previous examinations of ancient Maya social organization in employing a truly integrated bioarchaeological approach to the topic rather than what have generally been intrinsically insular archaeological or osteometric approaches.
32 2019 - Dental Anthropology
Erin Blankenship-Sefczek, Expressions of two near absent dental traits, lingual cuspule and paraconid, on one Archaic period modern human from the Ohio Valley. 2019 - Dental Anthropology
Erin Blankenship-Sefczek, Maxillary lateral incisor variation and rare trait expression: A case study from Pre-historic Paa-ko, New Mexico. 2013
Presentations
- Developmental disruptions and tooth development: Insights into application for past populations University of Milan, Milan, Italy 2026
- Early Modern Dentistry in Colonial America: Case Study of a Maxillary First Molar Showing Advanced Dental Preparation of a Carious Lesion from Philadelphia. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, Poster presentation, Denver, Colorado 2026
- Assessing the influence of diel activity niche on lemur hindlimb morphology. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, Podium presentation, Denver, Colorado 2026
- Frailty and survival in ancient Maya sub-royals from Buenavista del Cayo Belize. AABA Committee on Diversity, Undergraduate Research Symposium. American Journal of Biological Anthropology Poster presentation, Denver, Colorado 2026
- Bridging Anthropology and Dentistry: Insights from Dental Anthropologists in Professional Education. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, Invited poster session, Denver, Colorado 2026
- Developmental stress, tooth characteristics, and subsistence: Dental changes associated with the transition to agriculture in the Ohio Valley. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, Podium presentation Baltimore, Maryland 2025
- Dietary stress, tooth characteristics and the Patterning Cascade Model. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, Poster presentation, Los Angeles, California 2024
- The relationship between dental modification and pathologies in Classic Period Maya. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Synchronous Virtual Poster presentation 2022
- Lingual cuspule and paraconid on one Archaic period individual from the Ohio Valley American Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Meeting, Cleveland, OH 2019
- Dentition, kinship, and status in the Mopan-Macal Triangle: Small-sample insights into Classic Maya social organization in Central Western Belize Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Washington DC, Invited Symposium 2018
- Tooth size, cusp expression, and nutritional stress American Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Poster Presentation 2017
- Archaeology and the Maya Columbus' Center of Science and Industry; Synapse Program 2016
- An accessory to developmental stress: the relationship between Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH) and molar cusp expression. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Poster presentation, Denver, Colorado -0001
- A comparison of osteoarthritis in the temporomandibular joint and distal interphalangeal joints. American Association of Clinical Anatomists, Poster presentation, Rochester, Minnesota -0001