Research
Hair cortisol
This work ranges across species and time, from monkeys to mummies. Cortisol - and other hormones - are deposited in hair during its growth and its measurement offers a time averaged signal that can then inform studies relating cortisol to phylogeny and age, ecology, and environmental stressors.
Milk composition
We measure various bioactive factors in human and nonhuman primate milk and seek to understand variation in the context of evolutionary relationships, maternal factors, and infant outcomes.
This randomized controlled trial (PI: S. Hess, UC Davis) was designed to inform guidelines and policies for supplementing zinc to young children. Our lab collaborated on the hair cortisol component of the study.
The HERO-G study tracked the growth of infants in ultra-fine detail in order to try and understand the regulation of growth patterns that lead to different outcomes.
The ENID-Bioactives study tracked the longitudinal composition of breast milk in relationship to the development of the infant gut microbiome, and health and growth outcomes.
This work investigates the evolution of human childhood from a comparative endocrine and genetic perspective.
Promoting equity for women in biological anthropology through the Committee on Diversity Women's Initiative (COD-WIN). Developing and coordinating faculty mentoring and leadership programs at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Our Biosafety Level 2 laboratory is equipped for enzymeimmunoassay, chemiluminescent assay, and mid-infrared spectroscopy. We measure hormones, markers of inflammation, and nutritional factors in biological samples of all types - blood products, hair, saliva, breast milk, stool, and urine.
We are very grateful for the research support provided by
