Sausage of Science

En este episodio, Anahí y Mecca conversan con la Dra. Sofía Olmedo sobre su nuevo proyecto sobre diabetes tipo 2 en la comunidad Qom de Argentina y los beneficios de utilizar la investigación acción participativa. Dra. Sofía Olmedo es Licenciada en Nutrición por la Universidad Cuenca del Plata de Formosa y Doctora en Ciencias de la Salud (FCM-UNC). Actualmente es Investigadora asistente de CONICET y Profesora adjunta en la Universidad Nacional de Formosa. Trabaja en estudios sobre nutrición y alimentación desde la perspectiva de la salud colectiva. Aborda temas relacionados con salud intercultural, el medio ambiente, soberanía alimentaria, seguridad alimentaria e hídrica en contextos de diversidad cultural. Sus investigaciones se originan en el marco del Programa de Ecología Reproductiva del Chaco Oriental (PERCHA), dentro del cual se realizan estudios relacionados con la fertilidad, crecimiento infantil, y salud general de las comunidades originarias de la región del Gran Chaco. Su investigación doctoral titulada “Determinación social de la alimentación y estado nutricional de preescolares qom de Formosa” fue realizada en una comunidad qom periurbana (Namqom) de la ciudad de Formosa Capital. Actualmente, está trabajando en el proyecto de investigación acción participativa “Repensando la Diabetes: una estrategia intercultural liderada por iniciativa comunitaria de salud en una comunidad indígena de Argentina” junto con tres miembros de la comunidad qom de Formosa. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Olmedo at sofiaireneolmedo@gmail.com o sofiaolmedo@conicet.gov.ar ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: aniruderman@gmail.com, Twitter: @ani_ruderman Mecca Howe, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: howemecca@gmail.com

Join us for a conversation about decolonizing research, rethinking education, and building institutions that actually serve the communities at their center. Chris sits down with Dr. Alyssa Crittenden, who returns to the show, this time as Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate College at UNLV. Since we last talked about community-based participatory research with the Hadza, her work has expanded across research, leadership, and institutional change. We discuss how she balances administration with fieldwork and what it means to advocate for ethical, community-driven science from within the academy. Drawing on recent publications in Nature Human Behaviour and Nature Microbiology, Alyssa unpacks Indigenous child socialization, the structural violence embedded in many schooling systems, and how education can provide access to literacy and credentials without erasing local knowledge. We also explore the difference between “community-inclusive” and true community-based participatory research, the pitfalls of the word traditional, the value of tiered informed consent, and what equitable international collaboration looks like in practice. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Hays, J., Dounias, E., Ninkova, V. et al. Sustainable education should include Indigenous knowledge. Nat Hum Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02288-1 Mangola, S.M., Lund, J.R., Schnorr, S.L. et al. Ethical microbiome research with Indigenous communities. Nat Microbiol 7, 749–756 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01116-w ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Crittenden: alyssa.crittenden@unlv.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

We’re long overdue for this conversation. In this episode, Chris and Courtney sit down with Dr. Inês Varela-Silva, Reader in Biocultural Studies and Community Health at Loughborough University, to talk about methods and why evidence synthesis matters for equity in science. We trace her path into anthropology and human biology before diving into the SCRIBE (SystematiC Reviews In Biocultural rEsearch) toolkit, recently published in the American Journal of Human Biology. We explore why biocultural research has historically underused systematic reviews and how excluding biocultural factors can bias evidence against Indigenous, minority, and small-scale populations. We also discuss SCRIBE’s six-step framework and the value of tools like Notion and Trello, alongside reflections on The Maya Project. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Varela-Silva, M. I., N. Rush, and N. Pearson. 2025. “ Conducting Scoping and Systematic Reviews With a Focus on Biocultural Research: The SCRIBE Toolkit.” American Journal of Human Biology 37, no. 9: e70133. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70133. https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/online_resource/The_SCRIBE_toolkit/29364935?file=57972535 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Varela-Silva: M.I.O.Varela-Silva@lboro.ac.uk ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: Courtney.Manthey@umconnect.umt.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

In this episode, hosts Chris and Courtney talk with Dr. Seth Quintus about his work in Sāmoa and Hawaiʻi, blending Polynesian archaeology, ethnohistory, and social theory. They discuss the value of four-field anthropology and collaboration, variation across Polynesian histories and ideologies, and common misconceptions about ancient Hawaiian political systems. Dr. Seth Quintus is a Pacific Island archaeologist and anthropology professor at the University of Hawai‘i. Coming from a long family line of teachers, Seth has carried that passion for learning and mentorship into his own career. He joined UH in 2016 and has built an impressive body of research exploring how people and environments have shaped one another across the Pacific. Originally from the Midwest, Seth has worked throughout the continental United States, including Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota, as well as in Sāmoa, Hawai‘i, Tokelau, and New Zealand. Although his specialty is archaeology, he approaches his work as a broadly trained anthropologist who values integrating multiple subfields to better understand human history and cultural change. His research focuses on long-term human–environment relationships, using spatial, ecological, and geomorphological methods to study settlement systems and agriculture. He’s particularly interested in how food production and environmental modification intersect with social and political change. Seth is also known for his commitment to teaching and community engagement. He partners with Kamehameha Schools, the National Park Service, and the National University of Sāmoa to involve students and community members in field research. In 2024, he received the College of Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching. He earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Auckland, and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from North Dakota State University, where he graduated magna cum laude. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Quintus, S., Cochrane, E. E., Laumea, M., & Filimoehala, C. (2025). Assessing settlement diversity in Sāmoa. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2025.2509519 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Quintus: SQuintus@hawaii.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Co-Host Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Mecca Howe, SoS Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: howemecca@gmail.com

Stephen McGarvey is Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health and Professor of Anthropology (Courtesy) at Brown University. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and on the editorial board of the American Journal of Human Biology. He was the recipient of the 2025 Franz Boas Distinguished Achievement Award from the Human Biology Association. McGarvey earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Pennsylvania State University in 1980, and an M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Yale University in 1984. McGarvey is concerned with issues of human population biology and global health, specifically modernization-related induced socio-economic and behavioral changes, genetic and environmental influences on obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factor, and child nutritional status. His research involves low and middle income countries now focused on Samoa, American Samoa, and South Africa. In this episode we discuss his concluding chapter of Princeton University Press book on Samoa research. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. McGarvey: stephen_mcgarvey@brown.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow, E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

In this episode, Dr. Theodore Schurr shares insights from his career researching genetic prehistories, linkages, and identities within transforming geopolitical landscapes of the past as well as contemporary sociopolitical shifts, including post-Soviet Russia and Georgia. Next, Dr. Schurr and hosts Cara and Chris reflect on the evolution of anthropology and genetic research, including breakthrough technologies and advanced field methods, changing bioethics, intentional relationships with communities, and exciting new approaches that are expanding our understanding of variation and genetic-environmental interactions of the past and present. Dr. Theodore (Tad) Schurr is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. For over thirty years, he has investigated the genetic prehistory of Asia and the Americas through studies of mtDNA, Y-chromosome, and autosomal DNA variation in Asian, Siberian, and Native American populations. For these studies, his lab characterized genetic diversity in indigenous populations of Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. His research group is currently exploring the population history of Georgia (Caucasus), Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Polynesia through collaborative studies in those regions. Other projects have investigated the role of the mtDNA in adaptation, cancer, complex diseases, and metabolism. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Yardumian, A., Shengelia, R., Chitanava, D., Laliashvili, S., Bitadze, L., Laliashvili, I., ... & Schurr, T. G. (2017). Genetic diversity in Svaneti and its implications for the human settlement of the Highland Caucasus. American journal of physical anthropology, 164(4), 837-852. Schurr, T. G., Shengelia, R., Shamoon-Pour, M., Chitanava, D., Laliashvili, S., Laliashvili, I., ... & Yardumian, A. (2023). Genetic analysis of Mingrelians reveals long-term continuity of populations in Western Georgia (Caucasus). Genome Biology and Evolution, 15(11), evad198. Ancient Lineages: Reconstructing the Genetic History of Svaneti, Northwest Georgia https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/ancient-lineages/ ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Schurr: tgschurr@sas.upenn.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cara Ocobock, Co-Host Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Mecca Howe, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: howemecca@gmail.com

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kyle Wiley, Assistant Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso, about how social and traumatic stressors during pregnancy become biologically embedded and shape maternal and infant health. Kyle shares his path into biological anthropology and discusses his biosocial research on perinatal health disparities in the United States and Brazil. We explore his work on interpersonal violence during pregnancy in São Paulo, Brazil, focusing on how trauma affects maternal and infant cortisol regulation and what this means for fetal programming and intergenerational health. We also discuss his recent research on pica among Latina pregnant women, which takes a novel approach by examining stress hormones and inflammation rather than micronutrient deficiencies. The episode closes with a look at Kyle’s new faculty role at UTEP, his current projects, and how he maintains work–life balance as an early-career scholar. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Wiley, K. S., Gouveia, G., Camilo, C., Euclydes, V., Panter-Brick, C., Matijasevich, A., Ferraro, A. A., Fracolli, L. A., Chiesa, A. M., Miguel, E. C., Polanczyk, G. V., & Brentani, H. (2025). A Preliminary Investigation of Associations Between Traumatic Events Experienced During Pregnancy and Salivary Diurnal Cortisol Levels of Brazilian Adolescent Mothers and Infants. American Journal of Human Biology, 37(2), e70004. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70004 Kwon, D., Knorr, D. A., Wiley, K. S., Young, S. L., & Fox, M. M. (2024). Association of pica with cortisol and inflammation among Latina pregnant women. American Journal of Human Biology, 36(5), e24025. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24025 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Wylie: kwiley@utep.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cmanthey@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

In this episode, hosts Chris and Mecca interview Dr. Cindi SturtzSreetharan about language decoding, why inclusive language matters for better science, the importance of clearly defining the terms we use, and how ethnographic methods help contextualize research. Dr. SturtzSreetharan is a President’s Professor at the School of Human Evolution & Social Change at Arizona State University. She has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Willamette University, a master’s in Asian studies from the University of Oregon, and a doctorate in Anthropology from the University of California at Davis. Her research interests center on a language-in-interaction approach to the construction of identities, including masculinity. Much of her earlier work focused on how Japanese men use language as a resource for creating, maintaining, or refuting a masculine identity. She has also worked on language use in reality TV shows, serial dramas, and film, focusing specifically on language and fatherhood. For the past decade, Dr. SturtzSreetharan has turned her attention to the intersection of language, the body, and medicine. Her current work is an investigation of metabolic syndrome in Japan, a so-called lifestyle condition that affects more men than women. She is particularly interested in the way that everyday, mundane language interactions contribute to the production of felt shame and stigma around body size, shape, and care. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: SturtzSreetharan, C.L & Shibamoto-Smith, J. It’s not the language, it’s us: Recommendations on what language can do and on what we as writers can do. American Journal of Human Biology 37(6): e70079 https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70079 (2025) SturtzSreetharan, C.L., DuBois, L.Z., & Brewis, A. 2025. Defining and deploying gender/sex in human biology: Where are we? Where should we be? American Journal of Human Biology 37(6):e70093 https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70093 (2025) ------------------------------ Contact Dr. SturtzSreetharan: cindi.sturtzsreetharan@asu.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Mecca Howe, Co-Host, HBA Fellow Email: howemecca@gmail.com, Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe-phd-22a48173/

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Molly Zuckerman, Professor of Biological Anthropology at Mississippi State University, about ethics, care, and responsibility in bioarchaeology. We discuss her recent article, “Exercises in ethically engaged work in biological anthropology,” and explore how human remains can be dehumanized in research and teaching collections, and how approaches such as osteobiographies can help restore personhood. Dr. Zuckerman also reflects on generational tensions in the field, the ethical challenges posed by climate change to archaeological sites, and how early-career scholars can develop thoughtful, context-specific ethical frameworks. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Zuckerman, M. K., Marklein, K. E., Austin, R. M., & Hofman, C. A. (2025). Exercises in ethically engaged work in biological anthropology. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 186(1), e25015. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Zuckerman: mzuckerman@anthro.msstate.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cristina Gildee, Co-Host, Co-Producer, HBA Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Mecca Howe, Co-Host, Co-Producer, HBA Fellow E-mail: mhowebur@charlotte.edu

Dr. Nicola Hawley is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, where she also holds a secondary appointment in Anthropology. She serves as Associate Director for Dissemination and Implementation Science at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation. Trained as a human biologist, Dr. Hawley is an internationally recognized expert in maternal and child health, with a focus on how early life experiences, from pregnancy through childhood, shape long-term risks for obesity and chronic disease. Her research bridges epidemiology, anthropology, and global health, using community-engaged and culturally grounded approaches to improve health outcomes in under-resourced and Indigenous settings. Much of her work centers in the Pacific, particularly in Sāmoa and American Sāmoa, where she leads NIH- and PCORI-funded studies on gestational and Type 2 diabetes, obesity prevention, and intergenerational health. She’s also deeply committed to mentorship, helping train the next generation of global health and maternal-child health researchers. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Heinsberg LW, Loia M, Tasele S, Faasalele-Savusa K, Carlson JC, Anesi S, et al. (2025) Study protocol for the Health Outcomes in Pregnancy and Early Childhood (HOPE) Study: A mother-infant study in American Samoa. PLoS One 20(9): e0326644. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326644 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow, E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

In this fun and “soupy” episode, hosts Cara and Chris chat with Dr. Melanie Beasley about putrefied meat, maggots, stable isotopes, and media attention at the most inconvenient times. Dr. Beasley directs the BioAnth Isotope Ecology Research Laboratory (BIER Lab) at Purdue University. Her work focuses broadly on human-environment interactions throughout the hominin lineage when the environment is influencing our evolutionary history, in the Holocene when humans are influencing the availability of prey resources, and in modern forensic contexts when the environment imprints meaningful geolocation information in biological tissues. She uses stable isotope geochemistry to connect humans and the environment they live in to understand changing climate, resource availability, and life history. The use of stable isotope geochemistry and the big data generated by such an analytical method in anthropology has only scratched the surface of what it can offer to the discipline and its contributions to humanity’s grand challenges. Through her scholarship, she sees the Anthropology of Tomorrow as an interdisciplinary blending of the social and natural sciences in an applied approach that makes anthropology relevant to living communities. Dr. Beasley is also interested in science communication to engage with the public about anthropology. Please contact her via email if you are interested in working in the lab as an undergraduate or for enquiries about graduate student training. Dr. Beasley is accepting applications for future MA/PhD students. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Beasley, M. M., Lesnik, J. J., & Speth, J. D. (2025). Neanderthals, hypercarnivores, and maggots: Insights from stable nitrogen isotopes. Science Advances, 11(30), eadt7466. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt7466 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Beasely: melmbeas@purdue.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cara Ocobock, Co-Host Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Mecca Howe, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow Email: howemecca@gmail.com

Cecilia Padilla Iglesias estudió Ciencias Humanas y de la Evolución en University College de Londres, donde empezó a interesarse por cómo surgió y cambió la diversidad cultural y biológica en nuestra especie. Hizo un máster en Antropología Evolutiva en Cambridge y luego un doctorado en la Universidad de Zúrich sobre cómo los cambios ecológicos y sociales han moldeado la dinámica de las poblaciones humanas. Durante el doctorado pasó varios meses en la República del Congo trabajando con comunidades nómadas de cazadores-recolectores. Hoy trabaja en Cambridge con una beca de investigación, estudiando cómo la vida nómada y la movilidad se reflejan en el genoma de estas poblaciones. La idea central de su trabajo es que la movilidad ha sido clave para la resiliencia de los humanos durante cientos de miles de años, y que fue lo que permitió adaptarse a enormes cambios ecológicos y demográficos en los diferentes ecosistemas que fue habitando. ------------------------------ Encuentra el trabajo comentado en este episodio: Padilla-Iglesias, C., Xue, Z., Leonardi, M., Paijmans, L.A,J., Colucci, M., … Manica, A. (2025). Pan-African metapopulation model explains Homo sapiens genetic and morphological evolution. bioRxiv 2025.05.22.655514; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.22.655514 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Anahí Ruderman, Guest-Co-Host, SoS Co-Producer, E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

Lawrence M. Schell is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the College of Integrated Health Sciences at the University at Albany, SUNY, with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research explores the interrelationship between biology and culture, with a particular focus on how contemporary urban environments shape human health and development. Dr. Schell’s early work examined noise as a form of urban stress, investigating its effects on prenatal and postnatal growth. He later expanded his research to include pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead, situating these exposures within the broader context of urban adaptation and health disparities. The study of lead exposure in Albany, NY, examined its influence on child physical and cognitive development, with attention to maternal nutrition and other factors that affect the transfer of lead from mother to fetus. In partnership with the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation he has recently completed three major projects. The first examined how PCBs that were used in manufacturing affect physical and sexual development during adolescence. His second project followed up the adolescents in project 1 to learn how exposure had influenced their transition into adulthood. The third project, also conducted with the Akwesasne community, explored how environmental pollutants may impact reproductive health and fertility among women. Through this work, Dr. Schell highlights the urban environment as a critical frontier for human adaptation, emphasizing the challenges posed by pollution, stress, and other features of modern city life while recognizing that these challenges are inequitably distributed in society. In 2004 Schell established a research center at Albany with NIH support to grow research on health disparities. Continued NIH support culminated in an endowment grant that will support the center and the development of health disparities research for many years to come. ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow, E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

This week on The Sausage of Science, Chris and Cristina explore pica (the craving and consumption of nonfood items like earth or clay) through the lens of maternal health and nutrition. Our guest, Dr. Leila Larson of the University of South Carolina, shares insights from her study on pica among pregnant women in Malawi, part of the REVAMP iron supplementation trial. She discusses how iron status, infection, and environment influence maternal health, why intravenous iron may be a more effective approach to reducing pica, and what these cravings reveal about nutrition and development worldwide. We also hear about her new U.S.-based study and how she balances a vibrant global research career. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Larson, Leila M., Martin Mwangi, Rebecca Harding, Ernest Moya, Ricardo Ataíde, Glory Mzembe, Ashley Thurber et al. "Effects of ferric carboxymaltose on pica among pregnant women in Malawi: a sub-study to a randomized controlled trial." The Journal of Nutrition (2025). ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Larson: LARSONL@mailbox.sc.edu Website: thenelilab.com ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, Co-Host, Co-Producer, HBA Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

Dr. Sofía Pacheco-Fores is a bioarchaeologist whose research focuses on migration in ancient Mexico. Using a range of methods including archaeological biogeochemistry and phenotypic variation in human skeletal and dental morphology, she reconstructs migration patterns to understand the experiences of past migrants and their recipient communities. She examines the role migration played in social and cultural change, including in ancient state formation, the spread of novel material culture complexes, the expression of social inequality, and eruptions of mass violence. She has on-going collaborative research projects in central Mexico, Oaxaca, and northwestern Mexico. In addition to her research, Dr. Pacheco-Fores is involved in science education and outreach activities with the goal of fostering increased inclusion and diversity within anthropology. She is a Senior Editor at Anthro Illustrated, a collaborative project creating illustrations of anthropologists of diverse backgrounds at work. She also encourages increased representation and participation in anthropology through the Skype A Scientist program, speaking with bilingual K-12 students about anthropology and bioarchaeology. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: SI Pacheco-Fores, CT Morehart. 2024. Beyond “non-local”: biogeochemical and morphological approaches to examining diverse migrant experiences in Epiclassic central Mexico. Bioarchaeology International 8:104-122. https://doi.org/10.5744/bi.2022.0038 SI Pacheco-Fores, CT Morehart, JE Buikstra, GW Gordon, KJ Knudson. 2021. Migration, violence, and the “other”: a biogeochemical approach to identity-based violence in the Epiclassic Basin of Mexico. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 61: 101263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101263 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Azcorra-Pérez: sipf@umn.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow/ E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

This week on The Sausage of Science, Chris and Cara talk with Dr. Josh Brahinsky, a researcher in the Transcultural Psychiatry Department at McGill University and the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University, whose work sits at the intersection of anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience. Josh explores how contemplative practices like prayer and meditation shape sensory experience, perception, and emotion, focusing especially on the embodied and affective dimensions of charismatic evangelical worship. With a background that bridges the humanities and sciences, a PhD in the History of Consciousness from UCSC, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Anthropology at Stanford, Josh brings a truly interdisciplinary lens to understanding what happens when people reach for the divine, and how those moments transform the body and mind alike. ------------------------------ Find the book discussed in this episode: Tongues of Fire: How Charismatic Prayer Changes Evangelical Brains and Mobilizes Spirit-Filled Activism www.bloomsbury.com/us/tongues-of-f…-9798881804992/ Find the Article: Brahinsky, J., Mago, J., Miller, M., Catherine, S., & Lifshitz, M. (2024). The Spiral of Attention, Arousal, and Release: A Comparative Phenomenology of Jhāna Meditation and Speaking in Tongues. American Journal of Human Biology, 36(12), e24189. doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24189 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Brahinsky: jbrahins@gmail.com ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cara Ocobock, Host Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

Alex got her degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2022 after finishing her dissertation on the variation in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and its effects on metabolic health markers in adults from Samoa. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Pennington Biomedical Research Center working on the Military Health and Nutrition Examinations Study (MHANES) (PI: Dr. Claire Berryman). In collaboration with the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, her work with MHANES examines how the interactions between environmental (i.e. temperature, altitude), behavioral (i.e. physical activity, nutrition, sleep), and physiological (i.e. body composition, energy expenditure, metabolic health markers) factors affect health and performance in active-duty service members. She frequently collaborate with colleagues on anthropological research projects focusing on the effects of physiological adaptations/adjustments to the extremes and is passionate about bringing anthropological perspectives to clinical and military-focused research. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Sarma, M. S., Niclou, A. M., & Hurd, K. J. (2025). Methodologic Opportunities for Space Health Research: Integrating Biological Anthropology Methods in Human Research for Precision Space Health and Medical Data. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 36(1_suppl), 104S-112S. https://doi.org/10.1177/10806032251349436 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Niclou: Alexandra.Niclou@pbrc.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: aniruderman@gmail.com, Twitter: @ani_ruderman

This week on the Sausage of Science, Cara sits down with two trailblazing scholars shaping the future of paleoanthropology from the African continent outward. Dr. Palesa Madupe, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute, shares her pioneering work on enamel proteomics—reconstructing protein sequences from Paranthropus robustus and other South African hominins to unravel questions of taxonomy, sex determination, and sexual dimorphism. Joining her is Professor Becky Ackermann of the University of Cape Town, co-director of the Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), whose influential research on evolutionary processes, phenotypic variation, and human diversity is reframing our understanding of our evolutionary story. Together, they highlight how African-led research is reshaping the global narrative of human origins, one fossil and one protein at a time. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Madupe, P. P., Koenig, C., Patramanis, I., Rüther, P. L., Hlazo, N., Mackie, M., ... & Cappellini, E. (2025). Enamel proteins reveal biological sex and genetic variability in southern African Paranthropus. Science, 388(6750), 969-973. DOI: 10.1126/science.adt9539 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Madupe: palesa.madupe@sund.ku.dk Contact Dr. Ackermann: becky.ackermann@uct.ac.za Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI) website: https://www.heriuct.co.za/ ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cara Ocobock, Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

Jake Aronoff is a human biologist studying immune function and aging from an evolutionary and ecological perspective. During his PhD, he studied how stress and social inequality impacts inflammation and immunosenescence in the Philippines and US. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at ASU studying inflammation and aging with Ben Trumble and the Tsimane Health and Life History Project. These studies focus on the development of chronic inflammation in later life (inflammaging), the links between metabolic and immune function (immunometabolism and meta-inflammation), and the relationship between infections, inflammation, and brain aging. His research also utilizes life history theory and energetic trade-offs to understand complex changes in biological functioning in later life, like the simultaneous occurrence of inflammaging and immunosenescence. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Aronoff, J. E., Trumble, B. C. (2025). An evolutionary medicine and life history perspective on aging and disease: Trade-offs, hyperfunction, and mismatch, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 13(1), 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaf010 Aronoff, J. E., Koning, S. M., Adair, L. S., Lee, N. R., Carba, D. B., Kuzawa, C. W., & McDade, T. W. (2024). Intimate partner violence, depression, and chronic low-grade inflammation among middle-aged women in Cebu, Philippines. American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 36(6), e24053. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24053 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow. E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar.

Dr. Luisa María Rivera is a critical biocultural anthropologist whose work examines how social inequality, trauma, and structural violence shape reproductive and maternal–infant health. She integrates ethnographic research with epigenomic and other molecular approaches to trace how stress during development can reverberate across generations and to understand the implications of these findings for health policy. Luisa earned her B.A. from Harvard (2008), an M.P.H. from the University of Minnesota (2015), and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Emory University (2022). She is currently a Neukom Postdoctoral Fellow at Dartmouth College, mentored by Dr. Zaneta Thayer (Anthropology) and Dr. Brock Christensen (Geisel School of Medicine). Her research includes long-term work in post-war communities in Guatemala and with historically marginalized communities in the United States. Luisa previously joined the Sausage of Science “Hackademics” series in Episode 114, Dissertation Research in the Time of COVID-19. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Vlasac, I. M., Stolrow, H. G., Thayer, Z. M., Christensen, B. C., & Rivera, L. (2025). DNA-based cell typing in menstrual effluent identifies cell type variation by sample collection method: toward noninvasive biomarker development for women’s health. Epigenetics, 20(1), 2453275. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592294.2025.2453275 ------------------------------ Contact Luisa: E-mail: Luisa.Rivera@dartmouth.edu website: https://luisamariarivera.com/ Google Scholar ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, Co-host, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,