Overview
How did the human body evolve, and how does our species' deep past shape our health and physiology today? Through lab and field research, I investigate the physiology of humans and apes to understand how ecology, lifestyle, diet, and evolutionary history affect metabolism and health. I'm also interested in how ecology and evolution influence musculoskeletal design and physical activity. Field projects focus on small-scale societies, including hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers, in Africa and South America. Lab research focuses on energetics and metabolism, including respirometry and doubly labeled water methods.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
·
2022 - Present
Evolutionary Anthropology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Director of Graduate Studies of Evolutionary Anthropology
·
2023 - Present
Evolutionary Anthropology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Research Professor of Global Health
·
2019 - Present
Duke Global Health Institute,
University Institutes and Centers
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
·
2020 - Present
Duke Science & Society,
University Initiatives & Academic Support Units
Recent Publications
Using insertable cardiac monitors to test determinants of heart rate and activity in captive baboons.
Journal Article bioRxiv · March 17, 2026 BACKGROUND: Insertable cardiac monitors (ICMs) provide fine-grained, continuous data on cardiac activity. These data have great potential to reveal individual physiology, energetics, and stress responses, with implications for animal health, cognition, wel ... Full text Link to item CiteThe evidence for constrained total energy expenditure in humans and other animals.
Journal Article Current biology : CB · February 2026 Energy is a limited resource for living organisms, with trade-offs in expenditure evident among physiological tasks. The impact of physical activity on these trade-offs is currently debated. Additive models, which predominate in human nutrition and animal ... Full text CiteSex Differences in Measures of Energy Expenditure and Body Composition in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults.
Journal Article Curr Dev Nutr · January 2026 BACKGROUND: Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is vital for energy balance and cardiometabolic health, yet its trajectory across the lifespan, particularly in females, remains poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the effects of aging and ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Drinking water salinity in a hot-dry environment: Hydration, kidney function, and blood pressure
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Pennsylvania State University · 2024 - 2029Developing insertable cardiac monitors to assess social and environmental effects on the autonomic stress response in a nonhuman primate model of aging
ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by University of Notre Dame · 2022 - 2027The Physiological Effects of Early Life Stress across the Life Course
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Wenner-Gren Foundation · 2025 - 2027View All Grants
Education
Harvard University ·
2006
Ph.D.