Research

The overarching theme of my research program centers on the correlates and consequences of life transitions, which I examine within the theoretical framework of human reproductive ecology and life history theory.

For the last 25 years, we have explored life transitions at population and individual levels. We focus on demographic and epidemiological transitions experienced by indigenous populations in northern Argentina as they become immersed in Western socioeconomies and we look at the individual experiences of life history transitions such as the return to postpartum fertility, puberty, and the end of reproductive life in women.

The Chaco Area Reproductive Ecology (CARE) Program

Established in 1997, The C.A.R.E Program aims at advancing our understanding of the interaction between reproductive patterns and the ecological context in populations of the Gran Chaco region of Argentina. Among the long-term objectives of the C.A.R.E. Project are to study the impact of the drastic lifestyle changes that the indigenous populations are experiencing in their fertility; to investigate the effect of transculturation on the health status of Chacoan indigenous populations and to explore the influence of child rearing practices on infant and children’s growth and  development.

Co-directed by Claudia Valeggia and Melanie Martin

Yale Reproductive Ecology Laboratory

Established in 1998, biological anthropologists at the Yale Reproductive Ecology Laboratory conduct research on human and comparative evolutionary biology.  We are particularly interested in key life history traits such as reproduction, growth, aging, and immune function.  We are also engaged in human and comparative research on behavioral ecology, reproductive behavior, and bioeconomics.

Co-directed by Claudia Valeggia and Richard Bribiescas