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
Real-time heart rate in the wild: remote collection of cardiac data in baboons using a low-power Bluetooth and LoRaWAN system.
Journal Article bioRxiv · April 21, 2026 Cardiac rate and rhythm reveal how animals adapt physiologically to day-to-day challenges, with consequences for health and fitness. However, these data remain difficult to collect in wild animals, despite their relevance for individual health and fitness. ... Full text Link to item CiteEnergy constraint on human health.
Journal Article Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · April 2026 Evolved constraints to human energy transformation force the body-brain system to operate an economy of energy. To survive and thrive, an organism's finite internal energy resources must be dynamically reallocated, forcing trade-offs from organelle to orga ... Full text CiteUsing 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 CiteRecent Grants
Drinking water salinity in a hot-dry environment: Hydration, kidney function, and blood pressure
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Pennsylvania State University · 2024 - 2029Effects of Physical Activity on Human Pregnancy Energetics: Testing Maternal Metabolic Limits
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2023 - 2027Developing 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 - 2027View All Grants
Education
Harvard University ·
2006
Ph.D.