51st Meeting of the
Human Biology Association
March 18-20, 2026 | Denver, CO, USA
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 19th Mar 2026, 08:17:16pm EDT
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Session Overview |
| Date: Wednesday, 18/Mar/2026 | |
| 7:00am - 8:00am |
Community Building and Networking Program Location: Plaza Court 8 Chair: Kaylee Appleton |
| 8:00am - 10:00am |
In-Person Poster Session Location: Plaza Exhibit Chair: Andrew Wooyoung Kim Adverse childhood experiences, loneliness, and adult mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa: An online, cross-sectional study Pushing up ti plants: intersections between mortuary practice, religion, culture, and ecology in Tanna, Vanuatu Neural signatures of stress-adapted cognition: ERP evidence linking early life stress to socio-emotional processing Estrone, adiposity, and inflammation in minimally-invasive samples: A pilot study The Impact of Iron on Maternal Mental Health: A Causal Analysis Using Directed Acyclic Graphs Perceptions of “good mothering” among university-aged women in upstate New York, US, and Xalapa, Mexico. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) access in a pilot study among people experiencing homelessness in Oregon, USA Assessing Self-Reported Physical Activity as a Predictor of Lipid Biomarkers in a Low-Resource Community from Southwestern Illinois Identifying social determinants of health and barriers to diabetes management in individuals with diabetes or prediabetes in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador Mapping endocrine vulnerability: spatial patterns of parathyroid hormone disruption and environmental inequality in the U.S. Does self-perception of social standing impact your health? Evaluating subjective social status and epigenetic age acceleration in Cebu Chronic disease, acute onset: a qualitative study of cardiometabolic disease in rural Yucatán Vulnerable males: maternal birth weight has sex specific associations with infant birth weight in the CLHNS Relationship between geographical slope and child health in Lima, Peru Body mass index, body temperature and sleep among Akwesasne women Household composition and adult nutritional status among BaYaka foragers in the Republic of the Congo Association between years since menopause, metabolic syndrome, and cognitive function in rural South African adults Blood pressure does not increase in response to menopause among forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon Linking perceived and measured water quality to coping behaviors and psychosocial stress in San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands Private religious practice, but not public religious practice, and marital status are associated with change in cognitive function in a longitudinal sample of older adults Connections Between Food Cravings and Nutritional Deficiencies Examining heat-related health risk and menopause status in urban environments: A meta-analysis from Philadelphia Adrenal puberty and mucosal immunity among juveniles and adolescents in Utila, Honduras Contextualizing exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in household water in a small island community in Honduras “Three foods make a meal”: Rwandan grandmothers as keepers of nutritional knowledge amid changing foodways. Gut microbiome-mediated phenotypic plasticity in human evolution and health Does social support improve health? A test using social networks and health in Vanuatu Blood pressure, nail cortisol, EBV antibody titers, and CRP among refugees from Serbia and Kenya Using the Veggie Meter to assess fruit and vegetable consumption among children Building foundations for biocultural engagement: Preliminary insights from Igbo women in Minnesota Associations of post-traumatic stress disorder and metabolic syndrome with accelerated brain aging in South African adults: A case-control study Does dietary quality predict inflammation in low-resource settings? Evidence from the Rural Embodiment and Community Health (REACH) study Do those with ADHD hold occupations that work to their strengths? Relationships of ADHD diagnosis and polygenic scores with occupational history and job skills in Add Health Rural Embodiment and Community Health (REACH) study: exploring differences of food insecurity across two low-resource U.S. communities Evaluating new methods for capillary blood sample collection to facilitate field-based research in human biology Global variation in children’s appetite regulation: Exploring the relationship between circulating leptin and adiposity among the Indigenous Shuar of Ecuador Perinatal experiences and biological stress in Appalachia: A mixed-methods pilot study The effect of mind-body therapies (MBTs) on biomarkers of inflammation in cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis Perceptions of prostate cancer prevention among middle-aged men in southeastern Mexico: A human biology perspective (Truly) global birth stories Brown adipose tissue activity and metabolic responses to cold exposure Indicators of metabolic syndrome among Shuar occur at lower BMI than standard obesity thresholds. Body fat percentage, not early life experiences, predicts blood pressure in children in Utila, Honduras The Role of Workplace Hierarchies in Nurses’ Stress and Experiences: A Biocultural Perspective Anthropometric Predictors of Hypertension in Ageing Populations: Evidence from Lucknow, India The impact of environmental enteric dysfunction and immune activity on Indigenous Shuar children’s growth: evidence from osteocalcin, a biomarker of bone formation Evidence of selection on the BDNF Val66Met (rs6265-A) variant across global populations Exploring environmental factors related to childhood physical activity in a low-resource U.S. community: a mixed-methods pilot study Hormonal decay after death: Evaluating DHEA-S as a potential molecular marker for postmortem interval estimation How are socioeconomic status and food insecurity related to hepatic health in US adults? A systematic review of social and environmental determinants of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in human milk Inequality, food insecurity, and HIV: A test of syndemicity in Cameroon Perinatal exposure to lead, arsenic, and zinc and adolescent neurodevelopmental outcomes in Nepal: A prospective cohort study Contraceptive preferences and decision-making among women in American Samoa: A mixed-methods study to inform future family planning efforts Socioeconomic Inequity and In-Hospital Mortality from Diabetes in Mexican Children Associations between University of Oregon Health Services sexual wellbeing programs, STI positivity rates, and number of students testing for STIs Brown adipose tissue activation in young adults Market integration and children’s gut health: Predictors of circulating endotoxin-core antibodies, a marker of environmental enteric dysfunction, among the Shuar of Ecuador Differences in sexual minority cognitive health between older adults living in Canada and the United States Unmasking kidney disease in a remote, hot-dry environment: High prevalence of reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate among semi-nomadic pastoralists Assessment of childhood fruit and vegetable intake using the Veggie Meter: Preliminary findings from a low-resource U.S. community Executive Function and Diabetes Identity Integration in Adolescents and Emerging Adults with Type 1 Diabetes (Brief Title: T1DEFT – Type 1 Diabetes Executive Function and Identity Study) Epigenetic landscapes: Shaping susceptibility to health and disease The association of physical activity, acculturation, and cardiometabolic risk among first-generation South Asian American immigrants Fragmentation of care during the postpartum period: An evolutionary perspective Cross-cultural perspectives on men’s age-related testosterone decline: Evidence from the U.S. and farming and forager communities in the Congo Basin Major and minor sickness classifications among Hadzabe foragers Glucose breath tests among Maasai children in rural Kenya: Exploring the role of gut health in the relationship between water insecurity and child growth Correlating the postmortem interval to the human necromicrobiome in a semi-arid desert environment How does polygynous marriage affect cooperative childrearing networks in The Gambia? Socio-ecological determinants of Rickettsia spp. seroprevalence in Yucatan, Mexico: Insights from an ecological analysis Multi-pollutant exposure and sexual maturation in adolescents |
| 8:00am - 4:00pm |
Registration Location: Governer's Square Foyer |
| 8:45am - 9:00am |
Coffee Available |
| 10:00am - 11:00am |
Virtual Poster Session Chair: Guillermo Zorrilla-Revilla Does BAT thermogenesis protect against changes in blood pressure levels during in cold exposure? Preliminary results from the BAT in NYC Study Urbanism and fetal death in Mexico. An exploratory analysis of cases occurring between 2020 and 2024. Biotechnological Interventions for Mental Health Support in Cancer Patients Examination of differences in height, weight, and body mass index of students in two disparate school districts in central New Jersey Society, Health and Disease in Contemporary Times: The Impacts of Quality of Life on Socioenvironmental, Climatic and Denialist Factors in the Amazon and Brazil Infant Mortality in Mexico, 2014–2023: persisting trend may indicate persisting inequities Sex Differences in Low-Intensity Facial Movements During Neutral Conversation: Evidence from Kabardian Population Body Size Variation Among Agricultural and Coastal Sundanese Populations in West Java, Indonesia “Preocúpate cuando no hay agua… y estrésate cuando sí hay”: Experiencias de mujeres de colonias populares ante la inseguridad hídrica en el hogar en Xalapa, Veracruz. Embodied fitness: Handgrip strength and kin-related parental altruism Brazil before and after the Hunger Map: Current considerations on food policies in the Pará Amazon. Neurological sequelae of Long COVID among adults in Johannesburg, South Africa: A cross-sectional, case-control study Early life nutrition, adult metabolism, and brown adipose tissue among New York City residents Curated Selves: Bioanthropological Reflections on the Body and Identity of Brazil's Digital Generation Embodiment and stigmatization: Biocultural perspectives on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and women’s health Reproductive justice and sterilization among sexual minority women in the U.S. |
| 11:00am - 12:30pm |
Editorial Board Meeting Location: Governer's Square 14 |
| 11:00am - 1:00pm |
Lunch Break |
| 11:30am - 12:30pm |
Breakout Session: Building resources for community engaged research in human biology: Gathering member feedback and determining next steps Location: Governer's Square 14 |
| 1:00pm - 2:15pm |
Plenary Session Location: Governer's Square 14 Chair: Michael Muehlenbein Introduction to Plenary Session 1:05pm - 1:12pm Scholarly renewal as a lesson learned 1:12pm - 1:19pm Challenges of collecting and transporting biological samples from the field to the lab 1:19pm - 1:26pm The Adventures of Poop Girl and Number 2: Lessons learned collecting and analyzing stool samples for parasitological detection in field settings 1:26pm - 1:33pm Bringing WEIRD instruments to the bush: reflections on applying and discarding validated surveys for work with rural Namibian agropastoralists 1:33pm - 1:40pm Beyond the promise: Navigating challenges with point-of-care tests in field research 1:40pm - 1:47pm Salivary bacteria-killing assay: protocol standardization and performance checks 1:47pm - 1:54pm The measurement of hot flashes for cross-population comparisons 1:54pm - 2:01pm There is Contamination Everywhere: how the wild west of ancient DNA was won (with a little help from Bigfoot) 2:01pm - 2:08pm Minimally invasive assessment of gut function: Tips and tools from the Human Evolutionary Biology and Health Lab 2:08pm - 2:15pm Getting the Signal Right: Methodological Considerations in Hair Cortisol Dynamics |
| 2:15pm - 2:30pm |
Coffee Break Location: Governer's Square Foyer |
| 2:30pm - 3:30pm |
Plenary Session (continued) Location: Governer's Square 14 Chair: Michael Muehlenbein A modest message on methods 2:37pm - 2:44pm One “lona”, two “cubetas”, three “pancles” and invisible tortillas- the importance of situated knowledge for food-related research. 2:44pm - 2:51pm How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Formal Theory 2:51pm - 2:58pm Benefits and pitfalls of using secondary datasets to answer anthropological questions 2:58pm - 3:05pm Torn between the field, the bench, and the computer: the necessity of collaboration in human evolutionary biology research 3:05pm - 3:12pm Study populations and women’s health 3:12pm - 3:19pm The value of fieldwork and the people who make it possible 3:19pm - 3:26pm oh to turn back the clock…learning from missed opportunities to create transdisciplinary biocultural approaches |
| 3:30pm - 4:00pm |
Plenary Discussion Chair: William Leonard Chair: Gillian Bentley |
| 4:00pm - 5:00pm |
Break |
| 5:00pm - 6:00pm |
Keynote Speaker, Larry Schell: Human Biology Research: Rickety Roads and Superhighways Location: Governer's Square 14 |
| 6:30pm - 9:30pm |
Welcome Reception Location: Plaza E |