Current Research Projects

Cardiometabolic Health

• The role maternal prenatal and early postnatal nutrition plays in susceptibility to – and protection from – obesity-related diseases.
• Animal models of the intergenerational transmission of obesity-related disorders such as type 2 diabetes via developmental plasticity (e.g., epigenetics).
• Type 2 diabetes community based, prevention programs in the highest risk communities.

Selected Related Publications

Child foraging, mobility, and health

• Spatial Cognition and Navigation (SCAN) among children and juveniles. In collaboration with the SCAN project at the University of Utah
• Anthropometric measurements of physical growth and macro-level indicators of health and nutrition status
• Foraging distance and estimates of energy expended – before and during nutrition transition

Selected Publications

Diet Composition and Food & Water Insecurity

• Measurement of diet composition data – before and during nutrition transition
• 24-hour dietary recalls
• Estimation of food and water insecurity
• Hydration strategies and water quality analysis

Human Maternal Placentophagy

• Human maternal placentophagy (eating the placenta or ‘afterbirth’ following parturition) in evolutionary and cross cultural context.
• Human maternal placentophagy as alternative health practice
• The potential health risks of human maternal placentophagy
• Human placentophagy and purported maternal benefits, including improved energy, lactation, and mood.

Selected Related Publications

Maternal and infant health patterns

• Ethnography of labor and delivery among Hadza foragers in Tanzania (Kristen Herlosky)
• Post-partum health and pain management among the Hadza (Kristen Herlosky)
• Cross-cultural patterns of co-sleeping among small-scale societies (Kayleigh Meighan; Kristen Herlosky)
• Co-sleeping in the US among women who opted for community assisted (i.e. midwife led) births (Kayleigh Meighan)

Laboratory Alumni

• Marlena Gatlin, BA (In Progress)
  Maternal Happiness and Unhappiness in Hadza Foragers of Northern Tanzania (Graduate College Research and Mentorship Program - RAMP)
• Roger Arenas, PhD (2019)
  Virtually healthy: Using Virtual Ethnography to Survey Healthcare Seeking Practices of Online Transgender Individuals
• Elle Ford, BA (2018)
  Anthopometric Measurements of Physical Growth among Hadza Hunter-Gatherer Children (McNair Fellowship)
• Mariah Clanton, BA (2018)
  Keep Calm and Carry On: Infant Carrying Practices and Motor Development (AANAPISI Fellowship)
• Celeste Giordano, PhD (2017)
  Aging and Fermentation as Adaptive Food Management Strategies in the Arctic
• Laura Gryder, MA (2015)
  Effects of Human Maternal Placentophagy on Maternal Postpartum Iron Status
• Kilian Wells, BA (2013)
  Activity Budgets and Energy Expenditure among Hunter-Gatherer Children: Results from the Hadza of Tanzania (NIH IDeA Fellowship)
• Kara Osborne, BA (2013)
  Evolution of the Human Diet: What We Can Learn from Hadza Hunter-Gatherers (McNair Fellowship)
• Diane Hardgrave, PhD (2010)
  The effects of Cellular Theta Breathing Meditation on Cell Mediated Immune Response: A Controlled, Randomized Investigation of Altered Consciousness and Health
• Allison Cantor, MA (2010)
  Impacts on Maternal Diet in a Transitional Community in Rural Costa Rica: Potential Implications for the Developmental Origins of Obesity-related Disorders
• Julie Kachinski , MA (2010)
  Use of an Animal Model to Explore Prenatal Predictors of Insulin and Glucose Metabolism in Southwestern Alaskan Yupiit
• Luz Andrea Pfister, MA (2006)
  Paleoepidemiology of Bacterial Infections among Prehistoric Human Populations in Northern Chile: an Ancient DNA Approach