Ms. Rethabile Masiu

Rethabile Masiu is a researcher in biological anthropology and paleopathology whose work centers on the diagnosis of infectious disease in skeletal remains. With a focus on tuberculosis in South African skeletal collections, the research integrates osteological expertise with quantitative and computational approaches to improve diagnostic reliability in both modern and historical contexts.

Recent publications explore the association between specific skeletal lesions and tuberculosis, assessing diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in pre-antibiotic populations. This work highlights vertebral and rib changes as key indicators and contributes to refining criteria used by palaeopathologists to infer disease prevalence in past communities.

A notable strength lies in the application of decision tree analysis and machine learning to skeletal pathology, demonstrating how data-driven models can support expert assessment. Based on a limited but focused body of publications, the research reflects a growing commitment to methodological innovation in the study of ancient and modern infectious disease.