Samantha Tipper holds a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Durham. Currently, she is a lecturer and deputy program lead in the School of Life Science at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. Samantha is a bioarchaeologist and paleopathologist with experience in both academic and commercial sectors. Her research focuses on the health and daily life in past populations, in particular looking at spinal pathology in ancient Nubia. Samantha founded the annual Sudan Studies Research Conference in 2017.