Research
The Biomedical Anthropology Program has a strong emphasis on research. We encourage our students to contact professors so they can participate in research projects that will prepare them as future researchers. Below you can find a brief description of some of our professors' research interests.
Dr. Ralph M. Garruto
My primary research interests are in natural experimental models, gene-environment interactions, health transitions, food chain disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. My current research projects include high incidence foci of ALS and Parkinsonism in the Western Pacific, Viliusk Encephalomyelitis, health transitions in Cambodia, Vanuatu, Saba Island, and the U.S., obesity and hypertension and cross-species transmission of prion diseases, particularly Chronic Wasting Disease. More About Me.
Dr. Gary D. James
I am currently involved in several ongoing projects, including: 1) the stress induced consequences of familial breast cancer risk, with colleagues at Mount Sinai School of Medicine; 2) the causes and consequences of disorders of function in collaboration with colleagues at Valley Health Care in Binghamton, NY; 3) ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and its effect on management of hypertension in collaboration with colleagues at United Health Services Hospitals, Binghamton N.Y.; and, 4) physiological stress and blood pressure among Filipino immigrants with colleagues at the University of Hawaii-Hilo. Further information about these and other projects can be found on the website of the Institute for Primary and Preventative Health Care, which I direct. More About Me.
Dr. Michael A. Little
My interests and efforts have shifted in recent years from field studies of East African pastoralists to historical studies of human biology and physical anthropology. This requires library and archival rather than comparative or experimental data collection. Gary James and I completed a history of the Human Biology Association early in 2005, and I am currently working on an edited history of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. I continue to be interested in bio-behavioral aspects of human ecology, and recently worked on a review of the effects of climate change on human health and adaptability with Ralph Garruto. More About Me.
Dr. J. Koji Lum
My initial research interests involved comparing patterns of genetic, linguistic, and geographic relatedness among Pacific island populations to gain insight into their origins and post-settlement gene flow. More recently my research has expanded to include malaria research throughout the tropics. These studies involve examining human genes that confer resistance and susceptibility to malaria, the genetics of malaria transmitting anopheles mosquitoes (species identification, population structure, and insecticide resistance), and the influence of human migration on disease. The latter includes the analyses of commensal organisms (rats and geckos) and domestic plants (kava) as proxies of human movement and exchange. Another focus of my research is the analyses of ancient DNA from archaeological contexts throughout the Pacific and forensic DNA samples from WWII remains and contemporary forensic settings. I am also involved in projects examining the influence somatic mitochondrial mutations in neuronal tissues and the development of neurodegenerative disease and of neurotransmitter receptor polymorphisms on sexual behavior. More About Me.
Dr. Andrew Merriwether
My research centers around six main themes: 1) peopling of new landscapes, primarily the peopling of the New World and of Oceania; 2) origins of domestication and diseases of domesticated animals, including camelids, flax, cotton, sweet potato, and bottle gourd; 3) genetics of adaptation and human disease, including adaptation to life at high altitude, genetics of obesity and hypertension, myocarditis, and choanal atresia; 4) population genetic and molecular evolution theory, including estimates of migration and migration routes, population genetics of expanding populations, phylogenetic age estimation; 5) methods for ancient DNA and forensics; and 6) genetics used to test theories of animal behavior, including the humpback whale, chimpanzees, camelids, and mollusks. More About Me.
Dr. Chris Reiber
Over the years my research has included topics within women’s health (Premenstrual Syndrome, menopause), cardiovascular health (perimenopausal changes in cardiovascular health in women, intra-abdominal adipose tissue as a cardiovascular risk factor), substance abuse and treatment (clinical trials of new pharmacological products for addiction, women and substance abuse), and evolutionary and epidemiological sciences. I have previously published my work on the demographics of various diseases and biological states, sociopsychological predictors of disease symptomatology, epidemiological studies of disease patterns in women, and the testing of hypothesis-driven models predicting behavior, symptomatology, and psycho-intellectual abilities and aptitudes. More About Me.
Dr. John H. Relethford
My primary research interests are in anthropological genetics, particularly the use of genetic/phenotypic data in reconstructing population history. Much of my work falls into four areas: 1) the use of genetic/phenotypic data for reconstructing historical and geographic influences on global patterns of human variation; 2) the use of genetic data and models for studies of the origin of modern humans over the past 150,000 years; 3) the use of phenotypic data in reconstructing the population history of Ireland; and 4) the development of models and methods in human population genetics. More About Me.
Dr. Dawnie Wolfe Steadman
Associate Professor of Anthropology. Bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, paleopathology, skeletal biology, and human rights. More About Me.