In 1980, Owsley joined the faculty at Louisiana State University on a full-time basis.
Initially, he began working with North American collections.
While other anthropologists were traveling to exotic locales, he considered his work with Plains Indians a practical choice, due to his lack of financial resources.
While working at Louisiana State, he was the only forensic anthropologist on staff.
The focus of his career involved directly working with law enforcement to identify skeletal and human remains that were discovered primarily at crime scenes and local construction sites.
It was during his time at LSU that the focus of his career in forensic anthropology became firmly established.
In summer 1981, Owsley returned to join Bass for the summer, performing research in the bone lab and body farm.
His family joined him in Knoxville, where they lived together on campus.

One summer day, during a visit to see Owsley in the lab, it became evident to Bass that his colleague was ill.
Visibly fatigued and experiencing shortness of breath, rather than go to the doctor, he went home to his wife and family.
Later that night, when Owsley started coughing up blood, Susie immediately assessed his condition and took him to one of her former colleagues, who diagnosed a lung infection from an unknown source.
Blood tests and sputum samples came back positive for incurable small cell lung cancer.

Just 30 years old, Owsley received a medical diagnosis that essentially served as a death sentence.
Fully understanding the ramifications of the situation, Owsley and his wife chose to face the problem, while refusing to accept defeat.
Susie's own professional background and medical knowledge kicked in and she began to determine the best course of action.
That evening, she contacted the physician and challenged the diagnosis.
She provided a profile of her husband that directly ruled out commonalities found in lung cancer patients.

Early the next day, rather than return to work, Owsley was admitted to the hospital, where he underwent a bronchoscopy.
The tests confirmed Susie's beliefs that the abnormalities found in her husband's lungs were attributed to a source other than malignant tumors.
The tests revealed scar tissues and inflammation.
Following an accurate diagnosis of lung infection, rather than lung cancer, Owsley was prescribed antibiotics and healed quickly.

The source of the lung infection was traced to unhealthy conditions in the bone lab, which was located directly beneath Neyland Stadium's football field.
Owsley often worked up to 16 hours a day in damp surroundings that cultivated toxic organic mold.
Daily exposure to the mildew conditioned Owsley's lungs, making them into a virtual petri dish of infection.
Once Owsley's health recovered, Bass, along with the school administration addressed the unhealthy conditions of the lab and work went back to normal at the University of Tennessee, while Owsley returned to Louisiana.

After five years on staff at Louisiana State University, Owsley was told of a promising staff opening with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.
The museum was looking for a curator to oversee their large inventory and museum display of American Indian remains.
While he was interested in working with the Smithsonian, Owsley was convinced that the competition would be too steep.
He had long held the Smithsonian up as the epitome of anthropological institutions and reasoned that he had only held his Ph.D. for a short time, with limited professional experience utilizing his educational background and skills.
While he was interested in someday joining the staff of the Smithsonian, he didn't believe that his current credentials would interest the recruiters, so he avoided applying for the position.

In 1987, Dr. Bass, who had a professional history working with the Smithsonian for over 30 years, encouraged Owsley to respond to another recruitment notice.
By this time, he had gained experience researching over 2,000 human remains discovered and excavated from archaeological dig sites, crime scenes
In 1980, Owsley joined the faculty at Louisiana State University on a full-time basis. Initially, he began working with North American collections. While other anthropologists were traveling to exotic locales, he considered his work with Plains Indians a practical choice, due to his lack of financial resources. While working at Louisiana State, he was the only forensic anthropologist on staff. The focus of his career involved directly working with law enforcement to identify skeletal and human remains that were discovered primarily at crime scenes and local construction sites. It was during his time at LSU that the focus of his career in forensic anthropology became firmly established. In summer 1981, Owsley returned to join Bass for the summer, performing research in the bone lab and body farm. His family joined him in Knoxville, where they lived together on campus.
One summer day, during a visit to see Owsley in the lab, it became evident to Bass that his colleague was ill. Visibly fatigued and experiencing shortness of breath, rather than go to the doctor, he went home to his wife and family. Later that night, when Owsley started coughing up blood, Susie immediately assessed his condition and took him to one of her former colleagues, who diagnosed a lung infection from an unknown source. Blood tests and sputum samples came back positive for incurable small cell lung cancer.
Just 30 years old, Owsley received a medical diagnosis that essentially served as a death sentence. Fully understanding the ramifications of the situation, Owsley and his wife chose to face the problem, while refusing to accept defeat. Susie's own professional background and medical knowledge kicked in and she began to determine the best course of action. That evening, she contacted the physician and challenged the diagnosis. She provided a profile of her husband that directly ruled out commonalities found in lung cancer patients.
Early the next day, rather than return to work, Owsley was admitted to the hospital, where he underwent a bronchoscopy. The tests confirmed Susie's beliefs that the abnormalities found in her husband's lungs were attributed to a source other than malignant tumors. The tests revealed scar tissues and inflammation. Following an accurate diagnosis of lung infection, rather than lung cancer, Owsley was prescribed antibiotics and healed quickly.
The source of the lung infection was traced to unhealthy conditions in the bone lab, which was located directly beneath Neyland Stadium's football field. Owsley often worked up to 16 hours a day in damp surroundings that cultivated toxic organic mold. Daily exposure to the mildew conditioned Owsley's lungs, making them into a virtual petri dish of infection. Once Owsley's health recovered, Bass, along with the school administration addressed the unhealthy conditions of the lab and work went back to normal at the University of Tennessee, while Owsley returned to Louisiana.
After five years on staff at Louisiana State University, Owsley was told of a promising staff opening with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. The museum was looking for a curator to oversee their large inventory and museum display of American Indian remains. While he was interested in working with the Smithsonian, Owsley was convinced that the competition would be too steep. He had long held the Smithsonian up as the epitome of anthropological institutions and reasoned that he had only held his Ph.D. for a short time, with limited professional experience utilizing his educational background and skills. While he was interested in someday joining the staff of the Smithsonian, he didn't believe that his current credentials would interest the recruiters, so he avoided applying for the position.
In 1987, Dr. Bass, who had a professional history working with the Smithsonian for over 30 years, encouraged Owsley to respond to another recruitment notice. By this time, he had gained experience researching over 2,000 human remains discovered and excavated from archaeological dig sites, crime scenes
Douglas W. Owsley