Courtney Miller successfully defends dissertation exploring how early life events shape skull development
Courtney Miller successfully defended her dissertation titled “Musculoskeletal Craniofacial
Evolution & Developmental Plasticity during Early Life Oral Motor Development.” Courtney
completed the requirements for her PhD in Structural Anatomy and Rehabilitation Sciences
under the supervision of Dr. Rachel Menegaz.
Courtney’s research explores how early life events shape skull development, with a focus on how behaviors like suckling and the timing of weaning influence growth. Her work highlights the importance of supporting and monitoring infant feeding, particularly in children with conditions like osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle bone disease. Using a mouse model of OI, she found that skull differences appear gradually, and the signs of OI become more noticeable as feeding behaviors change during early life. The model also showed that early weaning can impact how the skull forms. In addition, a pilot parent survey suggested potential differences in infant feeding history, birth experiences, and early mouth and jaw function between children with and without diagnoses such as OI or autism.
After graduation, she will join Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine in Boise, Idaho, as assistant professor of anatomy.