SoS 269: The Whole Organism Imperative with Dr. Ben Auerbach

In this episode, hosts Cara and Chris discuss various models of evolution, adaptation, and returning to the fundamentals, including, yes, math (!), with Dr. Charles Roseman and Dr. Benjamin Auerbach. Dr. Auerbach is a Professor in the Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research examines variation and evolution through the skeletons of primates and other mammals, applying quantitative genetics and functional anatomy to understand how traits evolve, especially in primates and Australian marsupials. He also studies variation in global human samples from archaeological and medical contexts, as well as the history and ethics of the biological and social sciences. You can find more about his work here: https://web.utk.edu/~auerbach/index.htm Dr. Roseman is an Associate Professor in Evolution, Ecology & Behavior and Anthropology in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois. His work broadly focuses on genotype-phenotype map structure and the evolution of complex traits. You can view his website here: https://sib.illinois.edu/directory/profile/croseman and follow him on Twitter @EvoRoseman. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Roseman, C. C., and B. M.Auerbach. 2025. “Evolving a Field: Can Evolutionary Theory Provide What the Study of Human Evolution Requires?.” Yearbook of Biological Anthropology 188, no. S80: e70127. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70127. ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:[email protected], Twitter:@CaraOcobock Chris Lynn, Co-Host, Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly

Tanvi is an evolutionary biologist who studies how pathogens and microbial communities evolve in response to human ecological, environmental, and cultural changes. Employing a One Health framework, her work integrates genomic/metagenomic datasets derived from animals, contemporary human populations living diverse lifestyles, and ancient individuals recovered using innovative paleogenomics techniques. She have a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, with a minor in Industrial Microbiology, and a Master's degree in Virology from the University of Pune, India. Her research career began in 2011 with her Masters' research project, where she conducted a case-control association study of genetic polymorphisms in human immune response genes and the outcomes of Dengue virus infection in Indian populations. From 2012 to 2017, she worked on her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology under the supervision of Dr. Anne Stone and Dr. Michael Rosenberg at Arizona State University, Tempe, U.S. Her dissertation research involved using cutting-edge degraded DNA and next-generation sequencing methods to elucidate the evolutionary histories of the pathogens causing two major human diseases - leprosy and tuberculosis. From 2017 to 2024, she worked as a Research Assistant Professor with Dr. Cecil M. Lewis Jr., in the Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology and Microbiome Research (LMAMR) at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, U.S. In this role, she co-led numerous projects investigating the evolution of the human microbiome in response to migration, lifeways, and behavior, which included a National Science Foundation-funded project on the oral microbiome. In 2025, she started a new position as a Bioinformatics Scientist working with Dr. Charlotte Avanzi at Colorado State University, where she is studying the transmission dynamics of leprosy in human and animal hosts. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Honap, T. P., Monroe, C. R., Johnson, S. J., Jacobson, D. K., Abin, C. A., Austin, R. M., Sandberg, P., Levine, M., Sankaranarayanan, K., & Lewis, C. M. Jr. (2023). Oral metagenomes from Native American Ancestors reveal distinct microbial lineages in the pre-contact era. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 182(4), 542–556. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24735 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Honap: [email protected] https://www.tanvihonap.com/ ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:[email protected], Twitter:@CaraOcobock Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow / E-mail: [email protected]

In this episode, hosts Courtney and Mecca talk with Dr. Sara Juengst about her bioarchaeological work in coastal Ecuador among the very early and early Gangala, including differing ideas of what it means to be a “body”, the sociocultural and subsistence roles of the ocean, and the benefits of combining paleopathological, mortuary, and stable isotopic analyses. Dr. Juengst is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC, USA. As an anthropological bioarchaeologist, her research integrates social theory and skeletal evidence to address lived experiences of disease, diet, migration, and violence in the past and present. Her research primarily focuses on South America (Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru), but she does consulting work on projects in North Carolina, Kenya, and Nigeria. In all of her work, she explores how people navigated changing social and environmental climates and highlights how skeletons embody power and community. She earned her BA in Anthropology from Vanderbilt University in 2008 and her PhD in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Juengst, S.L., Lunnis, R., Cruz, Y.Z., Cobb, E.M., Bythell, A. (2024). An Investigation of Identity and Ontology at Salango, Ecuador (BCE 100–300 CE) Combining Paleopathological, Mortuary, and Stable Isotopic Analyses. Bioarchaeology, 8(1-2). https://doi.org/10.5744/bi.2023.0010 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Juengst at [email protected] and follow her work at https://www.sarajuengst.com/ ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org Courtney Manthey, Co-Host Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Mecca Howe, SoS Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: [email protected]

In this episode, Cara and Chris sit down with Dr. Ben Auerbach, a Professor in the Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research examines variation and evolution through the skeletons of primates and other mammals, applying quantitative genetics and functional anatomy to understand how traits evolve, especially in primates and Australian marsupials. He also studies variation in global human samples from archaeological and medical contexts, as well as the history and ethics of the biological and social sciences. The conversation centers on his 2023 paper in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology advocating a “whole organism imperative.” Rather than analyzing traits one at a time, he argues that evolutionary questions require multi-trait quantitative genetic approaches that account for covariance among features. We discuss why trait-by-trait adaptationist stories can be misleading, how to distinguish genetic drift from selection, and what this framework reveals about human limb evolution and ecogeographic patterns. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Auerbach, B. M., Savell, K. R., & Agosto, E. R. (2023). Morphology, evolution, and the whole organism imperative: Why evolutionary questions need multi‐trait evolutionary quantitative genetics. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 181, 180-211. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Auerbach: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cara Ocobock, Host Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:[email protected], Twitter:@CaraOcobock Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: [email protected]

En este episodio, Anahí y Mecca conversan con la Dra. Sofía Olmedo sobre su nuevo proyecto sobre diabetes tipo 2 en la comunidad Qom de Argentina y los beneficios de utilizar la investigación acción participativa. Dra. Sofía Olmedo es Licenciada en Nutrición por la Universidad Cuenca del Plata de Formosa y Doctora en Ciencias de la Salud (FCM-UNC). Actualmente es Investigadora asistente de CONICET y Profesora adjunta en la Universidad Nacional de Formosa. Trabaja en estudios sobre nutrición y alimentación desde la perspectiva de la salud colectiva. Aborda temas relacionados con salud intercultural, el medio ambiente, soberanía alimentaria, seguridad alimentaria e hídrica en contextos de diversidad cultural. Sus investigaciones se originan en el marco del Programa de Ecología Reproductiva del Chaco Oriental (PERCHA), dentro del cual se realizan estudios relacionados con la fertilidad, crecimiento infantil, y salud general de las comunidades originarias de la región del Gran Chaco. Su investigación doctoral titulada “Determinación social de la alimentación y estado nutricional de preescolares qom de Formosa” fue realizada en una comunidad qom periurbana (Namqom) de la ciudad de Formosa Capital. Actualmente, está trabajando en el proyecto de investigación acción participativa “Repensando la Diabetes: una estrategia intercultural liderada por iniciativa comunitaria de salud en una comunidad indígena de Argentina” junto con tres miembros de la comunidad qom de Formosa. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Olmedo at [email protected] o [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @ani_ruderman Mecca Howe, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: [email protected]

Join us for a conversation about decolonizing research, rethinking education, and building institutions that actually serve the communities at their center. Chris sits down with Dr. Alyssa Crittenden, who returns to the show, this time as Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate College at UNLV. Since we last talked about community-based participatory research with the Hadza, her work has expanded across research, leadership, and institutional change. We discuss how she balances administration with fieldwork and what it means to advocate for ethical, community-driven science from within the academy. Drawing on recent publications in Nature Human Behaviour and Nature Microbiology, Alyssa unpacks Indigenous child socialization, the structural violence embedded in many schooling systems, and how education can provide access to literacy and credentials without erasing local knowledge. We also explore the difference between “community-inclusive” and true community-based participatory research, the pitfalls of the word traditional, the value of tiered informed consent, and what equitable international collaboration looks like in practice. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Hays, J., Dounias, E., Ninkova, V. et al. Sustainable education should include Indigenous knowledge. Nat Hum Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02288-1 Mangola, S.M., Lund, J.R., Schnorr, S.L. et al. Ethical microbiome research with Indigenous communities. Nat Microbiol 7, 749–756 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01116-w ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Crittenden: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: [email protected],

We’re long overdue for this conversation. In this episode, Chris and Courtney sit down with Dr. Inês Varela-Silva, Reader in Biocultural Studies and Community Health at Loughborough University, to talk about methods and why evidence synthesis matters for equity in science. We trace her path into anthropology and human biology before diving into the SCRIBE (SystematiC Reviews In Biocultural rEsearch) toolkit, recently published in the American Journal of Human Biology. We explore why biocultural research has historically underused systematic reviews and how excluding biocultural factors can bias evidence against Indigenous, minority, and small-scale populations. We also discuss SCRIBE’s six-step framework and the value of tools like Notion and Trello, alongside reflections on The Maya Project. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Varela-Silva, M. I., N. Rush, and N. Pearson. 2025. “ Conducting Scoping and Systematic Reviews With a Focus on Biocultural Research: The SCRIBE Toolkit.” American Journal of Human Biology 37, no. 9: e70133. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70133. https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/online_resource/The_SCRIBE_toolkit/29364935?file=57972535 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Varela-Silva: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: [email protected],

In this episode, hosts Chris and Courtney talk with Dr. Seth Quintus about his work in Sāmoa and Hawaiʻi, blending Polynesian archaeology, ethnohistory, and social theory. They discuss the value of four-field anthropology and collaboration, variation across Polynesian histories and ideologies, and common misconceptions about ancient Hawaiian political systems. Dr. Seth Quintus is a Pacific Island archaeologist and anthropology professor at the University of Hawai‘i. Coming from a long family line of teachers, Seth has carried that passion for learning and mentorship into his own career. He joined UH in 2016 and has built an impressive body of research exploring how people and environments have shaped one another across the Pacific. Originally from the Midwest, Seth has worked throughout the continental United States, including Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota, as well as in Sāmoa, Hawai‘i, Tokelau, and New Zealand. Although his specialty is archaeology, he approaches his work as a broadly trained anthropologist who values integrating multiple subfields to better understand human history and cultural change. His research focuses on long-term human–environment relationships, using spatial, ecological, and geomorphological methods to study settlement systems and agriculture. He’s particularly interested in how food production and environmental modification intersect with social and political change. Seth is also known for his commitment to teaching and community engagement. He partners with Kamehameha Schools, the National Park Service, and the National University of Sāmoa to involve students and community members in field research. In 2024, he received the College of Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching. He earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Auckland, and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from North Dakota State University, where he graduated magna cum laude. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Quintus, S., Cochrane, E. E., Laumea, M., & Filimoehala, C. (2025). Assessing settlement diversity in Sāmoa. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2025.2509519 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Quintus: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Co-Host Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Mecca Howe, SoS Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: [email protected]

Stephen McGarvey is Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health and Professor of Anthropology (Courtesy) at Brown University. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and on the editorial board of the American Journal of Human Biology. He was the recipient of the 2025 Franz Boas Distinguished Achievement Award from the Human Biology Association. McGarvey earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Pennsylvania State University in 1980, and an M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Yale University in 1984. McGarvey is concerned with issues of human population biology and global health, specifically modernization-related induced socio-economic and behavioral changes, genetic and environmental influences on obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factor, and child nutritional status. His research involves low and middle income countries now focused on Samoa, American Samoa, and South Africa. In this episode we discuss his concluding chapter of Princeton University Press book on Samoa research. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. McGarvey: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow, E-mail: [email protected]

In this episode, Dr. Theodore Schurr shares insights from his career researching genetic prehistories, linkages, and identities within transforming geopolitical landscapes of the past as well as contemporary sociopolitical shifts, including post-Soviet Russia and Georgia. Next, Dr. Schurr and hosts Cara and Chris reflect on the evolution of anthropology and genetic research, including breakthrough technologies and advanced field methods, changing bioethics, intentional relationships with communities, and exciting new approaches that are expanding our understanding of variation and genetic-environmental interactions of the past and present. Dr. Theodore (Tad) Schurr is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. For over thirty years, he has investigated the genetic prehistory of Asia and the Americas through studies of mtDNA, Y-chromosome, and autosomal DNA variation in Asian, Siberian, and Native American populations. For these studies, his lab characterized genetic diversity in indigenous populations of Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. His research group is currently exploring the population history of Georgia (Caucasus), Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Polynesia through collaborative studies in those regions. Other projects have investigated the role of the mtDNA in adaptation, cancer, complex diseases, and metabolism. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Yardumian, A., Shengelia, R., Chitanava, D., Laliashvili, S., Bitadze, L., Laliashvili, I., ... & Schurr, T. G. (2017). Genetic diversity in Svaneti and its implications for the human settlement of the Highland Caucasus. American journal of physical anthropology, 164(4), 837-852. Schurr, T. G., Shengelia, R., Shamoon-Pour, M., Chitanava, D., Laliashvili, S., Laliashvili, I., ... & Yardumian, A. (2023). Genetic analysis of Mingrelians reveals long-term continuity of populations in Western Georgia (Caucasus). Genome Biology and Evolution, 15(11), evad198. Ancient Lineages: Reconstructing the Genetic History of Svaneti, Northwest Georgia https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/ancient-lineages/ ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Schurr: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cara Ocobock, Co-Host Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:[email protected], Twitter:@CaraOcobock Mecca Howe, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: [email protected]