Dr. Scherf’s research interests lie in the effects of locomotor loads on internal bony structures of long bones in primates including fossil and extant humans. Analyses of locomotion related structures in extant species are used as comparative basis to interpret the bony morphology in long bones of fossil species with regard to their preferred type of locomotion. In this field of research special attention is paid to:

• Functional adaptation of cancellous bone

• Quantification of the trabecular architecture

• Functional structures in cortical bone

• Application of high resolution CT to fossil bones

• Estimation of habitual locomotor loads

• Estimation of stresses in bone structures caused by habitual locomotion

As accurate handling of digital data, e.g. CT data, build the first step for the interpretation of internal structures, Dr. Scherf has put an additional research focus on the development of reproducible and accurate computerized pre-processing and analysing methods for complex internal bone structures (e.g. cancellous bone).