Links
to Information on Publications, Research Interests,
and Teaching
Research
Interests
Publications
Human
Biology Research Laboratory
Undergraduate
Teaching and Mentoring
Shuar
Health and Life History Project
Indigenous
Siberian Health and Adaptation Project
Bones
and Behavior Project
Evolutionary
Medicine Group
Primary Academic
Appointment
Associate
Professor,
Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon
Other Positions
Chair,
Undergraduate
Council, University of Oregon (2012-2013)
Williams
Fellow, University of Oregon (2012-2013)
Director, Human
Biology Research Laboratory, University of Oregon
(since 2007)
Advisor, Multi-Country Studies Unit, World Health
Organization (since 2005)
Affiliated Scientist, Oregon
Social Learning Center (since 2010)
Areas of
Specialization
Human
Biology; Human Nutrition & Energetics; Evolutionary
Medicine;
Global Health; Growth & Development; Aging;
Human Skeletal Biology
Education
NIA
Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Mind and Biology, The
University of Chicago (2004-2005)
Ph.D.,
Anthropology, Northwestern University (2004)
M.A., Anthropology,
University of Florida (1998)
B.A., Anthropology,
UC Santa Cruz (1995)
Teaching
Anth 175: Evolutionary Medicine (Syllabus)
Anth 199: Paging Dr.
Darwin (Freshman Interest Group College Connections
Course) (Syllabus)
Anth 270:
Introduction to Biological Anthropology (Syllabus)
Anth 362: Human Biological Variation (Syllabus)
Anth 369: Human Growth & Development (Syllabus)
Anth 468/568: Evolutionary Theory (Syllabus)
Anth 487/587:
Bioanthropology Methods (Syllabus)
Anth 610: Current
Topics in Biological Anthropology (Syllabus)
(Read more about
my courses and teaching philosophy)
Research
Interests
My research focuses on
human health and adaptation and sits at the intersection
of human physiology, evolutionary biology, nutritional
sciences, epidemiology, and the behavioral sciences.
My research focuses on four main topics:
1) Human
adaptation to environmental stressors such as extreme
cold
2) The influence of economic and cultural change on
health, especially cardiovascular disease and diabetes
3) Human/primate energetics and the evolution of the
human diet
4) The role of chronic psychosocial stress in shaping
health and disease
(Read
more about my research interests)
Collaborative
Field Research
I am part of several
large collaborative research teams and am involved in
field research projects in northeastern Siberia (Indigenous
Siberian Health and Adaptation Project), the
Amazon region of Ecuador (The
Shuar Health and Life History Project), and
several locations within Oregon.
Since 2005, I've also been involved with the World
Health Organization's multi-country Study
on
Global
Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE), a longitudinal
study of health and well-being in older adults that
focuses on nationally representative samples in six
countries (China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and
South Africa).
Human
Biology Research Laboratory
I also direct a human
biology research laboratory that focuses on the
development and application of minimally invasive
techniques (e.g., dried blood spots and saliva) for assessing health and
physiology in population-based research.
AAPA Portland 2012
On April 11-14, UO's Department
of Anthropology hosted the 81st annual meeting of the
American Association
of Physical Anthropologists at the Hilton Portland
and Executive Tower in Portland, OR. I served as
co-chair of the AAPA local arrangements committee (with
John Lukacs) and chair of the Human Biology
Association local arrangements committee.
The conference, which was attended by over 1700 people,
was held jointly with several sister organizations,
including the Human
Biology Association and the Paleopathology
Assocation. For more information, check out the AAPA
2012 Meeting Website.
In addition to
organizing and running the conference, UO faculty,
graduate students, and undergraduates also presented or
contributed to a total of 19 papers at AAPA and 10 at
HBA. Five of those papers had undergraduates as the lead
author. Check
out the UO
website for a story about UO Anthropology's role
in organizing the meetings.
Recent Awards & Press
In 2013, I received
the Michael A. Little Early Career Award from the Human Biology
Association in recognition of outstanding
contributions to the field of human biology.
In 2012, I was named as a Williams
Fellow in recognition of distinguished
undergraduate teaching at the University of Oregon.
I also recently received a Faculty
Excellence Award in recognition of outstanding
research and leadership at the University of Oregon.
Click here
for a recent news piece in Science about ecological
immunology research by the Shuar Health and Life History
Project and collaborators Thom McDade and Paula Tallman.
In 2011, I received a Clinical
Research Recognition Award from the
PeaceHealth/Sacred Heart Medical Foundation for my
research on stress and health.
Click here for a
recent article from Science on the evolution of the
human diet, which discusses some of my research.
Click here
for a recent Room for Debate opinion piece from The New
York Times that discusses the effects of recent secular
trends in height and longevity, and responds to the
question "Do we want to be supersize humans?"
Current Research Projects
Bones and Behavior
I'm also a
co-organizer (with Susan Antón of NYU) of the Bones and
Behavior Working Group, and I manage the website bonesandbehavior.org.
Our group is dedicated to fostering a greater synthesis
across biological anthropology with the specific aim of
developing integrative approaches to research questions
concerning human and primate adaptation.
Evolutionary Medicine Group
The Evolutionary
Medicine
Group is a discussion group that I started in 2008
and is run through UO's Institute of Cognitive
and Decision Sciences. Kirstin
Sterner has taken over as organizer of the group
for 2012-2013. The group meets every other Thursday
during the academic year to discuss recent research in
evolutionary medicine and to develop and pursue
collaborative research projects.
Papers Under
Review
- McClure HH, Snodgrass JJ,
Martinez CR, Squires EC, Jimenez RA, Isiordia LE,
Eddy JM, and McDade TW. Stress, place, and
allostatic load among Mexican immigrant farmworkers
in Oregon. J Immigr Minor Health.
- Wilson HJ, Leonard WR,
Snodgrass JJ, Tarskaia LA, Klimova TM, and
Krivoshapkin. Objectively measured physical activity
and sedentary behavior of Yakut (Sakha) adults. Ann
Hum Biol.
- Levy SB, Leonard WR, Tarskaia
LA, Klimova TM, Fedorova VI, Baltakhinova ME,
Krivoshapkin VG, and Snodgrass JJ. Seasonal changes
in thyroid function among the Yakut (Sakha) of
Eastern Siberia. Am J Hum Biol.
- Cepon TJ, Liebert MA, Gildner
TE, Urlacher SS, Colehour AM, Snodgrass JJ,
Madimenos FC, Sugiyama LS. Soil-transmitted helminth
prevalence and infection intensity among geographically
and economically distinct Shuar communities in the
Ecuadorian Amazon. PLOS ONE.
Forthcoming
Publications
- McClure HH,
Snodgrass JJ, Martinez CR, Eddy JM, McDade TW, Hyers
MJ, and Johnstone-Diaz A. Integrating biomarkers
into research with Latino immigrants in the United
States. Adv Anthropol.
- Snodgrass JJ. Health of
indigenous circumpolar populations. Annu Rev
Anthropol.
Recent Publications
(Publication
Archive)
- Liebert MA,
Snodgrass JJ, Blackwell AD, Madimenos FC, Cepon TJ,
and Sugiyama LS. 2013. Implications of market
integration for cardiovascular and metabolic health
among an indigenous Amazonian Ecuadorian population.
Ann Hum Biol 40: 228-242. (link
to article)
- Antón SC and Snodgrass JJ.
2012. Origin and evolution of genus Homo: A new
perspective. Curr Anthropol 53 (Supplement 6):
S479-S496.

- Madimenos FC,
Snodgrass JJ, Liebert MA, Cepon TJ, and Sugiyama LS.
2012.
Reproductive effects on skeletal health in Shuar
women of Amazonian Ecuador: A life history
perspective. Am J Hum Biol 24: 841-852.

- Squires EC,
McClure HH, Martinez CR, Eddy JM, Jimenez RA,
Isiordia LE, and Snodgrass JJ. 2012. Diurnal
cortisol rhythms among Latino immigrants in Oregon,
USA. J Physiol Anthropol 31: 19.

- McDade TW,
Tallman PS, Madimenos FC, Liebert MA, Cepon TJ,
Sugiyama L, and Snodgrass JJ. 2012. Analysis of
variability of high sensitivity C-reactive protein
in lowland Ecuador reveals no evidence of chronic
low-grade inflammation. Am J Hum Biol 24: 675-681.

- Kowal P, Chatterji S, Naidoo N,
Biritwum R, Wu F, Lopez Ridaura R, Maximova T,
Arokiasamy P, Phaswana-Mafuya N, Williams SR,
Snodgrass JJ, Minicuci N, D’Este C, Boerma JT. 2012.
Cohort profile: The WHO Study on global AGEing and
adult health (SAGE). Int J Epidemiol 41: 1639-1649.
- Leonard WR,
Snodgrass JJ, Robertson ML. 2012. Comparative and
evolutionary perspectives on human brain growth. In:
Cameron and Bogin (eds.) Human Growth and Development (2nd
Edition). New York: Elsevier, pp. 397-414.
- McClure HH, Eddy
JM, Kjellstrand JM, Snodgrass JJ, and Martinez CR.
2012. Child and adolescent affective and behavioral
distress and elevated adult body mass index. J Child
Psychiatry Hum Develop 43: 837-854. (link
to article)
- Muchlinski MN,
Snodgrass JJ, and Terranova CJ. 2012. Muscle mass
scaling in primates: An energetic and ecological
perspective. Am J Primatol 74: 395-407.

- Snodgrass JJ.
2012. Human energetics. In: Stinson et al. (eds.) Human Biology: An
Evolutionary and Biocultural Approach (2nd
Edition). New York: Wiley, pp. 327-386.

- Snodgrass JJ.
2011. Review of The
Evolutionary Biology of Human Body Fatness
(by JCK Wells). Q Rev Biol 86: 367-368.

- Snodgrass JJ.
2011. Review of Human
Evolutionary Biology (by MP Muehlenbein).
Am J Hum Biol 23: 724-725.

- Snodgrass JJ,
Leonard WR, Tarskaia LA, Klimova TM, Fedorova VI,
Baltakhinova ME, Krivoshapkin VG. 2011. Metabolic
adaptation in the Yakut (Sakha). Yakut Medical
Journal 2(34): 11-14 (in Russian).

- Madimenos FC,
Snodgrass JJ, Blackwell AD, Liebert MA, Sugiyama LS.
2011. Physical activity in an indigenous Ecuadorian
forager-horticulturalist population as measured
using accelerometry. Am J Hum Biol 23: 488-497.

- Blackwell AD,
Gurven MD, Sugiyama LS, Madimenos FC, Liebert MA,
Martin MA, Kaplan HS, Snodgrass JJ. 2011. Evidence
for a peak shift in a humoral response to helminths:
Age profiles of IgE in the Shuar of Ecuador, the
Tsimane of Bolivia, and the U.S. NHANES. PLoS
Neglect Trop D 5: e1218.

- Madimenos FC,
Snodgrass JJ, Blackwell AD, Liebert MA, Cepon TJ,
Sugiyama LS. 2011. Normative calcaneal quantitative
ultrasound data for the indigenous Shuar and
non-Shuar Colonos of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Arch
Osteoporosis 6: 39-49.

- Leonard WR,
Snodgrass JJ, and Robertson ML. 2011. Diet and brain
evolution: Nutritional implications of large human
brain size. In: Preedy et al. (eds.) Handbook of Behavior,
Food and Nutrition. New York: Springer, pp.
3-15.
- Cepon TJ,
Snodgrass JJ, Leonard WR, Tarskaia LA, Klimova TM,
Fedorova VI, Baltakhinova ME, Krivoshapkin VG. 2011.
Circumpolar adaptation, social change, and the
development of autoimmune thyroid disorders among
the Yakut (Sakha) of Siberia. Am J Hum Biol 23:
703-709.

Selected
Publications (Publication
Archive)
- Leonard WR,
Robertson ML, Snodgrass JJ. 2010. What did humans
evolve to eat? Metabolic implications of major
trends in hominid evolution. In: Moffat and Prowse
(eds.) Human Diet
and Nutrition in Biocultural Perspective: Past
Meets Present. New York: Berghahn Books,
pp. 13-34.

- Blackwell AD,
Snodgrass JJ, Madimenos FC, Sugiyama LS. 2010. Life
history, immune function, and intestinal helminths:
Trade-offs among immunoglobulin E, C-reactive
protein, and growth in an Amazonian population. Am J
Hum Biol 22: 836-848.
(cover photo)
- Snodgrass JJ,
Leonard WR, Tarskaia LA, et al. 2010. Impaired
fasting glucose and the metabolic syndrome among an
indigenous Siberian population. Int J Circumpol
Health 69: 87-98.

- McClure HH,
Snodgrass JJ, Martinez CR, Eddy JM, Jimenez RA,
Isiordia LE. 2010. Discrimination, psychosocial
stress, and health among Latin American immigrants
in Oregon. Am J Hum Biol 22: 421-423.

- Raichlen DA,
Gordon AD, Muchlinski MN, Snodgrass JJ. 2010. Causes
and significance of variation in mammalian basal
metabolism. J Comp Physiol B 180: 301-311.

- Snodgrass JJ and
Leonard WR. 2009. Neandertal energetics revisited:
Insights into population dynamics and life history
evolution. PaleoAnthropology 2009: 220-237.

- Snodgrass JJ,
Leonard WR, Robertson ML. 2009. The energetics of
encephalization in early hominids. In: JJ Hublin
& M Richards (eds.) Evolution
of Hominid Diets: Integrating Approaches to the
Study of Palaeolithic Subsistence. Dordrecht, Springer,
pp. 15-29.

- Sorensen MV,
Snodgrass JJ, Leonard WR, McDade TW, Tarskaya LA,
Ivanov KI, Krivoshapkin VG, Alekseev VP. 2009.
Lifestyle incongruity, stress and immune function in
indigenous Siberians: The health impact of rapid
social and economic change. Am J Phys Anthropol 138:
62-69.

- Snodgrass JJ,
Leonard WR, Sorensen MV, Tarskaia LA, Mosher MJ.
2008. The influence of basal metabolic rate on blood
pressure among indigenous Siberians. Am J Phys
Anthropol 137: 145-155.

- Snodgrass JJ,
Sorensen MV, Tarskaia LA, Leonard WR. 2007. Adaptive
dimensions of health research among indigenous
Siberians. Am J Hum Biol 19: 165-180.
(cover
photo)
- McDade TW,
Williams SR, Snodgrass JJ. 2007. What a drop can do:
Dried blood spots as a minimally-invasive method for
integrating biomarkers in population-based research.
Demography 44: 899-925.

- Snodgrass JJ,
Leonard WR, Tarskaia LA, Schoeller DA. 2006. Total
energy expenditure in the Yakut (Sakha) of Siberia
as measured by the doubly labeled water
method. Am J Clin Nutr 84: 798-806.

- Snodgrass JJ,
Leonard WR, Tarskaia LA, Alekseev VP, Krivoshapkin
VG. 2005. Basal metabolic rate in the Yakut (Sakha)
of Siberia. Am J Hum Biol 17: 155-172.
(cover
photo)
(Go
to Publication Archive)
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