She received her PhD from the University of Toronto and did undergraduate work at the University of Arizona. While Onstine has worked on several excavations and epigraphic projects in Egypt and Jordan, TT16 is the first field project she has directed. She has been directing the archaeological research in Theban Tomb 16 since 2008 and has published several articles related to it. Research interests include gender and social history, archaeology, Nubian cultures, the Predynastic era of Egypt, and religion in ancient Egypt.