Susan N. Tanner
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Michigan, 2005
stanner1@uga.edu
Areas of Specialization:
Human adaptation; growth and development; biocultural approaches to health and
disease; evolutionary medicine; parasitism and immune function; Bolivia and
South America.
Research and Teaching Interests
As a biological anthropologist, I am interested in the dynamic interactions between human behavior, biological variation and patterns of health and disease. In my research and teaching, I rely on a biocultural perspective to consider behavioral, economic, and biological correlates of human adaptability. I am interested in examining the multiple pathways through which culture change may affect health, specifically focusing on two central questions: 1) how does educational and economic variation influence the distribution of infectious disease and 2) in what ways does frequent disease exposure contribute to nutritional stress and patterns of poor childhood growth. I have focused my research of these questions in lowland Bolivia.
The development of field-friendly biomarkers of health provides anthropology with tools to investigate the intersections between human biology and behavior—a fundamental point of tension for biocultural research. In collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University, I am currently developing an immunological assay for Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that relies on the field-friendly method of dried blood spot collection. This research will provide insight into the complex interrelations between the ecology of infectious disease, immune function, and human growth in a population chronically exposed to infectious disease.
Teaching
Biology, Society, and Health: Introduction to Medical Anthropology —Spring 2009
Human Population Ecology, Anthropology Graduate Seminar (Anthro 8400) — Spring 08/09
Human Adaptation (Anthro 4790/6790) – Fall 2008, Spring 2007
Introduction to Anthropology (Anthro 1102) — Fall 2008, Spring 2007
Culture and Human Biology (Anthro 2070H) – Spring 2007
Ecology and Evolution of Human Disease (Anthro 4590/6590) – Fall 2007
Human Growth and Development: Anthropological Approaches–(Anthro 4050)-
Fall 2007
Selected publications
Calvert-Mir, L, Reyes-Garcia V, Tanner S and the TAPS Study Team. 2008. Is there a divide between local medicinal knowledge and Western medicine? A case study among native Amazonians in Bolivia. Journal of Ethobiology and Ethnomedicine. 4:18.
Godoy R, Tanner S, Reyes-Garcia V, Leonard WR, McDade TW, Vento M, Broesch J, Fitzpatrick I, Giovannini P, Huanca T, and Bolivian TAPS Study Team. 2008. The Effect of Rainfall During Gestation and Early Childhood on Adult Height in a Foraging and Horticultural Society of the Bolivian Amazon. American Journal of Human Biology. 20(1):23-34.
Tanner S and McDade TW. 2007. Enzyme Immunoassay for Total Immunoglobulin E in Dried Blood Spots. American Journal of Human Biology. 19(4):440-442.
Reyes-Garcia V, Vadez V, Tanner S, Huanca T, Leonard WR, McDade T. 2007. Ethnobotanical Skills and Clearance of Tropical Rain Foresto f Agriculture: A Case Study in the Lowlands of Bolivia. AMBIO 36(5): 406-408.
McDade TW, Reyes-García V, Blackingon P, Tanner S, Huanca T, and Leonard WR. 2007. Ethnobotanical knowledge is associated with indices of child health in the Bolivian Amazon. PNAS. 104(15):6134-6139.
Tanner S. 2005. A Population in Transition: Health, Culture Change, and Intestinal Parasitism among the Tsimane’ of lowland Bolivia. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Foster Z, Byron E, Reyes-Garcia V, Huanca T, Vadez V, Apaza L, Perez E, Tanner S, Gutierrez Y, Sandstrom B, Yakhedts A, Osborn C, Godoy R, Leonard WR. 2005. Physical growth and nutritional status of Tsimane Amerindian children of lowland Bolivia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 126(3): 343-351.
Frisancho AR, Gilding N, and Tanner S. 2001. Growth of leg length is reflected in socio-economic differences. Acta Med Auxologica 33(1): 47-50.
Frisancho AR, Tanner S, and Abrams E. 2001. Influence of parental obesity of Mexican-American children. Acta Medica Auxologica. 33:213-217.
Research Project Website: Tsimane’ Amazonian Panel Study
Link: http://people.brandeis.edu/~rgodoy/research/pgs/research.html
