PEOPLE

Principal Investigator

Abigail Bigham
Associate Professor of Anthropology

awbigham@ucla.edu

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Postdoctoral Scholars

 

Kelsey Jorgensen
kcjorgensen@ucla.edu

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Graduate Students

Kimberly Zhu
kitzhu@ucla.edu

Kristine Chua
kckchua1110@ucla.edu

Hi! I’m Kristine, a sixth-year Ph.D. student in Biological Anthropology. Broadly, my work centers around how perceptions of mortality risk affect developmental trajectories and human reproductive health. I integrate frameworks from evolutionary developmental theories to explore the complex relationship between mothers and their fetuses in addition to the role cultural practices play in shaping health norms. I work closely with pregnant Filipina women and Filipina American women and am currently investigating how the socio-political environment becomes embodied in women’s biological experiences and how these communities conceptualize mental health.

Paloma Contreras
palomacz@umich.edu

Paloma is a sixth-year graduate student in Biological Anthropology at the University of Michigan. Her research explores the effects of water insecurity on stress biomarkers and DNA methylation among women living in Mexico City.

Cesar Barreras
cesar3@ucla.edu

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Graduate Students

Abagail Breidenstein

Abagail completed her PhD in Biological Anthropology in 2019. Her dissertation explored identity and migration in Ancient Nubia. After completing a postdoc at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, Abagail is now a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at SUNY Binghamton and is the Associate Director of the Nuri Archaeological Expedition in Sudan.

abstein@umich.edu

Ainash Childebayeva

Ainash completed her PhD in Biological Anthropology in 2019. Her dissertation looked at epigenetic modifications in response to high-altitude hypoxia among Andean Quechua highlanders. She is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kansas.

ainash@umich.edu

Obed Garcia

Obed completed his PhD in Biological Anthropology in 2020. Broadly stated, his interests lie at exploring how our human history influences our genome that may make us more or less susceptible to modern infectious diseases. His dissertation combined bioinformatic analysis with field research to understand the impact of past evolutionary forces on modern susceptibility/resistance to infectious disease, particularly dengue virus. He is now a postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University.

oag@umich.edu

Vince Battista

vmbatt@umich.edu

Elizabeth Werren

Liz completed her PhD Biological Anthropology and Human Genetics. Her research explored cortical neurobiological evolution and neurodevelopmental disorders.  Liz is now a Clinical Genomicist at The Jackson Laboratory.

werren@umich.edu

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Researchers

Jenna Isherwood
Undergraduate student and research technician
Graduate student at Wayne State University

Julien Weinstein
Research Technician

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Undergraduate Students

Lauren Payne

Paula Pedrani

Molly Starchuski
Peace Corps Volunteer

Rachel Taylor

Kinsey Vear
Medical Student at the University of Michigan

Polly Washabaugh