I am a biological anthropologist by training and Associate Professor of Anthropology and Health and Behavioral
Sciences at the University of Colorado at Denver. I also hold an appointment as Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
My main theoretical area of expertise is human ecology, that is, evolutionary perspectives on aspects of both human biology and behavior. Within the biological arena my interests have focused on various aspects of maternal and child health including nutrition, growth and development, and determinants of fertility. Within the area of behavioral ecology, I have been interested in life history theory and parental investment as well as an examination of human social norms such as reciprocity, altruism, bargaining, and punishment. All of these areas are represented
in my ongoing research project among the Au lowland
forager-horticulturalists of Papua New
Guinea.
My research among the Au has considered such topics as:
*effects of resource availability on birth interval duration
*cumulative effects of repeated pregnancies and prolonged lactation on
women’s health
*influences of maternal body composition on the effectiveness of
breast-feeding as a natural contraceptive
*the effects of recently introduced socioeconomic development and
social stratification on hemoglobin levels, birth weights and
growth
*biases in parental
investment by age and sex of children and the effects of such biases on child
growth and neuromuscular development
*effects of market integration on the outcome of economic experiments used to gauge bargaining behavior, reciprocity and fairness
*effects of third-party punishment on bargaining and fairness.
In the past, I have also collaborated on
projects examining: (a) patterns of child growth and development in the
United
States, and (b) the utility of craniofacial data to try to
reconstruct population relationships and movements in prehistory.
*A link to the multidisciplinary Doctoral Program in Health & Behavioral Sciences.
*For more information about my professional pursuits, have a look at this brief biosketch.