The ecocultural context affects the patterning of child development and health in many different ways. Childhood is conceived and experienced differently across cultures and individuals, and we cannot untangle the effects of context on child health and development without understanding what constitutes local assets and stressors, the pacing of childhood (i.e., cultural age categories and biological transitions), and the ways these intersect in a particular environment.
My work in Ethiopia centers on stressors from the physical and social environments and the ways it impacts nutritional status, biomarkers (cortisol and DHEAS), and sociocultural development among Sidama agropastoralist children. In order to evaluate these, a wide variety of data are necessary and my research includes: ethnographic data on cultural age categories; cultural and physical stressors, from both adults’ and children’s perspectives; anthropometrics; investigations of health models and beliefs around disease transmission; and collection of hair samples to assess biomarkers associated with health and child development (cortisol and DHEAS). I currently collect these data among Sidama agropastoralists of Ethiopia, and formerly worked with Aka forest foragers and Ngandu horticulturalists in the Central African Republic (see Fieldsites for more information). I am also in the process of developing a project that will investigate the relationship between consumption of waasa, a fermented food central to the Sidama diet, and children’s gut microbiomes.
In Alabama, my research is oriented around out-of-school activities, including athletics (with Dr. Jess Wallace) and performing arts (with Dr. Stephanie McClure, Dr. Alexis Davis-Hazell, and Mr. Alvon Reed), and the impacts of participation on holistic measures of child health and well-being. This work is rooted in positive youth development and community-based participatory research, and aims to identify environmental assets that can be amplified in order to mitigate health inequities among Alabama’s youth. Longitudinal work will explore associations with life history outcomes.
Potential projects for interested undergraduate and graduate students include those focused on behavioral endocrinology, nutritional status, child health and development, sensitive periods in development, cross-cultural or evolutionary investigations of childhood, climate change/urbanization, and effects of physical and social (including participation in performing arts and athletics) environments on life history outcomes, among many others. If you're interested in working with me on any of these (or related) projects, please contact me.
My work in Ethiopia centers on stressors from the physical and social environments and the ways it impacts nutritional status, biomarkers (cortisol and DHEAS), and sociocultural development among Sidama agropastoralist children. In order to evaluate these, a wide variety of data are necessary and my research includes: ethnographic data on cultural age categories; cultural and physical stressors, from both adults’ and children’s perspectives; anthropometrics; investigations of health models and beliefs around disease transmission; and collection of hair samples to assess biomarkers associated with health and child development (cortisol and DHEAS). I currently collect these data among Sidama agropastoralists of Ethiopia, and formerly worked with Aka forest foragers and Ngandu horticulturalists in the Central African Republic (see Fieldsites for more information). I am also in the process of developing a project that will investigate the relationship between consumption of waasa, a fermented food central to the Sidama diet, and children’s gut microbiomes.
In Alabama, my research is oriented around out-of-school activities, including athletics (with Dr. Jess Wallace) and performing arts (with Dr. Stephanie McClure, Dr. Alexis Davis-Hazell, and Mr. Alvon Reed), and the impacts of participation on holistic measures of child health and well-being. This work is rooted in positive youth development and community-based participatory research, and aims to identify environmental assets that can be amplified in order to mitigate health inequities among Alabama’s youth. Longitudinal work will explore associations with life history outcomes.
Potential projects for interested undergraduate and graduate students include those focused on behavioral endocrinology, nutritional status, child health and development, sensitive periods in development, cross-cultural or evolutionary investigations of childhood, climate change/urbanization, and effects of physical and social (including participation in performing arts and athletics) environments on life history outcomes, among many others. If you're interested in working with me on any of these (or related) projects, please contact me.
