GMS Student Spotlight: Riley Scherer ‘26
Riley Scherer is a second-year student in the Master of Science in Forensic Anthropology Program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. During her time at Graduate Medical Sciences, Riley has researched the taphonomic effects of sharks, studying how shark feeding activity could affect bones that are found in marine environments. Riley earned her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a concentration in Forensics from the University of Montana in Missoula. Learn more about Riley below!
Tell me about your journey to Boston. What brought you to Boston University?
I’m originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but I grew up in central Mississippi. From a small child, I knew I wanted to do something in forensics. I think it was when I was around six years old that I told my mom I wanted to be a forensic linguist and work with different languages. But my specialty in forensics eventually led me to anthropology, where I came across the University of Montana in Missoula. I got my BA in Anthropology with a concentration in Forensics there. From there, I knew I wanted to go into my master’s program, which led me to BU, since they’re a small group and one of the only programs that has a Master of Science instead of a Master of Arts, which really intrigued me.
What about the BU Forensic Anthropology program made you want to apply?
It was small, which was always a big factor for me. I wanted to be able to get close to my cohort and close to my professors so I could make those connections within the field. Also, the science part of it really intrigued me.
Can you go into more detail about your journey toward forensic anthropology? Did you always know you wanted to do something like that?
I always knew I wanted to do something in forensics; I just wasn’t sure what exactly until high school. I got the opportunity to go with a class to watch nurses practice their suturing skills on different cadaver parts. That was really interesting, and one of the nurses was talking about a forensic anthropologist who had worked in Mississippi. Just talking about her work, I fell in love with it right then and there. I was like, that sounds so interesting. I would love to learn more about that. I was homeschooled at the time, so I was able to narrow down my field and really focus on that. I started taking classes in anthropology and forensics, and it really solidified when I got to my first forensics class, which was taught by a forensic anthropologist.
Can you tell me about some of the work or research you’re doing in in the Forensic Anthropology program?
Absolutely. I’m currently finishing my thesis on the taphonomic effects of sharks. I went out during the summer to look into how shark feeding activity affects bones that are found in marine environments. I specifically fed deer ribs to sharks to assess the impact on the bones, and once I had all the data, I examined each individual bone to identify and categorize the marks. That was really exciting. I had help from my family, specifically my brother and my dad. They were both a huge help, but it was amazing, and honestly, I would love to expand on the research.
I was off the Cape. I went out with a fishing charter specifically who worked with sharks as well. He took me to a spot where we got blue sharks, which aren’t known for attacking humans or necessarily even interacting with humans. But these sharks tend to be more scavengers, so they could leave marks on bones if they scavenge on human remains, which was also part of my research.
When you say you’re looking at marks on the bones, are you using those marks to identify what shark you’re dealing with?
The identification of shark species based on the marks they leave when feeding is the secondary purpose of my thesis. This aspect of my thesis was the most challenging because it depended on different sharks feeding on the bones and leaving identifiable marks. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to collect much data on that, due to a lack of sharks. However, I would like to look into this further in the future.
How would you say your thesis, and your time in the program altogether, fits into your larger goals working in the field?
Everything I’ve learned from this school and just in the field has given me a good outlook on what it’s going to look like to be in the field in general. You know, like gathering data and the steps to collect data. That was a big thing with my thesis, especially writing down everything I needed to in the moment and getting practice on that in real time. That was one thing I focused on: making sure I wrote down everything that happened to the bones within the experiment timeframe, so I knew what happened. And specifically in the classes, each one of these classes has set me up for a wide range of skills to go into the field. I know people who have applied for work with fingerprints from just this program alone, and you can do a wide range of things with it, and that’s something I’ve really enjoyed.
What have been some of your favorite memories from your time at BU?
One that sticks out immediately is in my very first year. In the program, we start off with what we call a thesis presentation, which is just the basic work of our thesis, what we want to do, how we’re going to do it. We have to stand up in front of our cohort and our teachers and give our very first presentation on it. Me and my friend Brooklyn, we’re in the same cohort and the same classes, and we were both really nervous, so she had called me. We were running through our presentations together, and during that time, I got so nervous I was speaking really, really fast, which made my accent come out really heavily. Each time it happened, we would just crack up laughing because it was over the word “fatal.” I was saying it so fast and in such a thick accent that it was coming out “fetal.” Even during the actual presentation, I was still so nervous that I stumbled over the word itself, and I kind of looked up at her in the stands and cracked a smile because I was like, there’s the word!
I also have a lot of good memories from that very first semester because it was so stressful and we were with each other basically 24/7 because of it. Like, before every class, before every test we had, we would play a round of Uno just to settle our nerves and get into a groove of things, which was really fun.
When you think about mentors who’ve helped you get to this point, who sticks out?
My family has been one of my biggest supporters ever since I was little, always pushing me to do my best and always being there to help me. My mom, I love her so much. She has been there the entire time, reading all of my papers and making sure I have all of my grammar correct, just being one of my biggest supporters. I couldn’t thank her enough. Along with that, Dr. Meradeth Snow and Dr. Randall Skelton from the University of Montana were huge supporters, and learning from them was a huge bonus at being at Montana. And then Dr. James Pokines, he’s my current mentor and my advisor. He has been for the past two years. He’s the one who gave me the idea for shark taphonomy, and he has pushed me to limits that I didn’t know I could reach. His expertise is in the field of forensic anthropology and archaeology, and it has just doubled my interest in both fields while also pushing me to be better at writing and research. They have all been huge influences on me, and I couldn’t thank them enough.
If there were someone coming up into GMS who wanted to follow a similar path to you, what advice would you give them?
When you first get into the program, it’s going to be a lot and it’s going to be a steep learning curve from undergrad or working if you’re just coming in from working and not being in school for a long time. But if you lean on your cohorts and you reach out to your second years or those above you, you’ll make it through. This is something I’ve told all of our first years: lean on each other, you’re all going through it. And they’re going to be your biggest strengths. I know my cohort was. If it wasn’t for them, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today.
What do you like to do for fun in Boston?
I love going to hockey games. I had never been to a hockey game before in my life before coming to BU. My friends Austin and Brooklyn, who are also in my cohort, were going to one day, and I’m like, that sounds like fun, and they’re like, “Well, come on, let’s go!” Since then, I have been to over 16 games this year. I’m going to the games next week and I’m going until they finish off the season. I’ve been to both men’s and women’s games. Hockey’s my favorite sport!