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.

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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
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Contact Dr. Niclou: Alexandra.Niclou@pbrc.edu
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Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow
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