Linda Larcombe › At Home in the North

Dr. Larcombe is a broadly trained anthropologist and archaeologist whose research interests include molecular anthropology, infectious diseases in contemporary and ancient human populations, socio-cultural and environmental factors contributing to infectious disease in First Nation populations, ancient DNA, cultural resource management, and historic and precontact archaeology.

She received her PhD in anthropology and is now an Associate Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine, Medical Microbiology, Community Health Sciences and Adjunct with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Larcombe works in partnership with First Nations on community-based projects investigating the social, biologic, environmental and genetic determinants of infectious diseases. She has managed CIHR funded projects with First Nation communities on health, housing, vitamin D, immune function, community readiness to take action against HIV/AIDS; Heritage Manitoba Projects to engage youth by archiving photographs, videography; and non-academic projects to engage First Nations youth in cultural resource management by training them to conduct archaeological survey and excavation. It is important for Dr. Larcombe’s work that First Nation partners are engaged in every aspect of the research and projects from designing and conducting the research and participating in sharing research findings at academic conferences, in journals and book publications. More importantly for the communities, Dr. Larcombe works with the First Nation Band Leadership to use the research findings for advocacy and lobbying for improving conditions on Reserves.