Geographical Areas of Specialization
- Bolivia; Germany; Greenland; Mongolia
Research Interests
- life history theory; evolutionary mechanisms; reproductive functioning and adaptations; reproductive and sexual health; pregnancy loss; contraceptive technologies
Dr. Virginia Vitzthum's research focuses on women's reproductive functioning and how it differs between individuals and across populations around the world.
Starting in the mid-1990s, Vitzthum has directed Project REPA—a long-term study of hormonal variation, fertility, and health in highland Bolivian women. The project investigated a then unresolved paradox: how is it that US women who undertake an exercise program often cease ovulating and become infertile, whereas women in less-developed countries may have many children despite ongoing strenuous physical labor?
In 2007, Vitzthum began a study comparing reproductive hormone levels of women who grew up in East Germany versus West Germany during the Cold War.
An evolutionary biologist, Dr. Vitzthum’s work of the past 20 years has focused on the determinants of variation in human female reproductive functioning.
Research Interests
- variation in human female reproductiony; contraceptive technology; applied health policy
Research Interests:
- variation in human female reproductiony; contraceptive technology; applied health policy
