Our Lab In The News
UNLV media coverage of our lab
Article Spotlight
- Impact of tissue processing on microbiological colonization in the context of placentophagy
- Navigating Cross-cultural Research: Methodological and Ethical Considerations
- Changes in Juvenile Foraging Behavior among the Hadza of Tanzania during Early Transition to a Mixed-Subsistence Economy
- Postpartum Maternal Mood Among Hadza Foragers of Tanzania: A Mixed Methods Approach
Current Lab Members
Daniel C. Benyshek
Co-Director of Lab
Office:
WRI-A
120
Phone:
702-895-2070
Fax:
702-895-4823
Email:
daniel.benyshek@unlv.edu
Alyssa Crittenden
Co-Director of Lab
Office:
GTW
213
Mail Code:
1017
Phone:
702-895-0225
Email:
alyssa.crittenden@unlv.edu
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.
Dr. Daniel Benyshek, calibrating a centrifuge in the Nutrition and Reproduction Laboratory.
Child Foraging, Mobility, and Health
Graduate student, Trevor Pollom, using a mounted compass to measure wayfinding ability among child foragers.
- 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
Diet Composition and Ecological Change
- 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
Alyssa Crittenden conducting 24 hour dietary recall interviews for a study on oral health and nutrition.
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.
Daniel Benyshek and Sharon Young (Lab alumna) readying to prepare a human placenta for laboratory analysis.
Maternal and Infant Health Patterns
Graduate student, Kristen Herlosky, collecting child interviews.
- Ethnography of labor and delivery among Hadza foragers in Tanzania
- Post-partum health and pain management among the Hadza
-
Continuity and change in reproductive practices of Hadza women undergoing economic transition
Laboratory Alumni
- Kayleigh Meighan, MA (2021)
Thesis: Prevalence and predictors of postpartum co-sleeping practices after midwife-led births in the United States - Stephanie Schnorr, Postdoctoral Fellow (2021)
Project: Relevance of Positive Selection on Human Salivary Amylase Gene - Marlena Gatlin, BA (2020)
RAMP Project: Maternal Happiness and Unhappiness in Hadza Foragers of Northern Tanzania - Spencer Holmes, BA (2020)
Project: Documenting the Diversity and Functions of Music in Hadza Life - Mayisha Smalls, BA (2020)
Project: Documenting the Diversity and Functions of Music in Hadza Life - Roger Arenas, PhD (2019) Dissertation: Virtually healthy: Using Virtual Ethnography to Survey Healthcare Seeking Practices of Online Transgender Individuals
- Alina Lindquist BA (2019)
Honors Thesis: Emic Perspectives on Ritualistic Ingestion of Entheogenic Substances - Alexia Janda BA (2019)
Honors Thesis: An Examination of the Relationship Between Acculturative Stress and Eating and Body Image Disorders Among Asian Americans
View More Alumni
- 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 - Sharon Young, PhD (2016)
Effects of Human Maternal Placentophagy on Postpartum Maternal Affect, Health, and Recovery - Laura Gryder, MA (2015)
Effects of Human Maternal Placentophagy on Maternal Postpartum Iron Status - Jessica Parsons BA (2014)
Honors Thesis: A Dollar Per Milligram: An Exploration of the Appalachian Opiate Abuse Epidemic from a Critical Medical Anthropology Perspective - 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 - Lauren Emes BA (2008)
The Effect of Diabetina Tea Consumption on Glycosylated Hemoglobin, Fasting Glucose and Lipid Levels, and BMI in Normoglycemic Individuals (NSF EPSCoR Project) - Anel Rojas BA (2008)
Honors Thesis: The ‘Young Hunter Hypothesis’: An Anthropological Cross Cultural Assessment - Luz Andrea Pfister, MA (2006)
Paleoepidemiology of Bacterial Infections among Prehistoric Human Populations in Northern Chile: an Ancient DNA Approach - Karmen Boelke BA (2004)
Lower Carbohydrate / Higher Protein Eating Plans: Possible Effects on Psychological and Emotional States (McNair Fellowship)