I am a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama with expertise in biocultural medical anthropology.
I study biocultural medical anthropology and human evolutionary biology. My research focus is cultural impacts on health.
I have several ongoing research projects that involve embodied belongingness and health, tattooing and immune response, and fireside relaxation.
The central focus of much of my research is how cultural practices impact health.
Research Interests
- Biocultural medical anthropology
- Human behavioral ecology
- Evolutionary studies
- Cultural impacts on health
- Dissociation, absorption, and trance
- Signaling theory, cooperation, and commitment
Subject Areas:
- Biocultural Medical Anthropology: culture and health
- Human Biology: human behavioral ecology, human evolutionary biology, neuroanthropology, experimental anthropology
- Psychological Anthropology
- Education, Outreach, and Community Engagement: evolution education.
Skills and Expertise:
- Stress Physiology
- Evolution
- Psychopathology
- Behavioural Science
- Psychotherapeutic Processes
- Culture
- Investigation
- Mental Illness
- Biomarkers
- Cultural Evolution.
Research Themes:
- Dissociation, Absorption, Self-Deception, and Consciousness
- Tattooing, Identity, Social and Biological Signaling, and Health
- Public Engagement, Reflexivity, and Engaged Scholarship in Anthropology.
