Human Biology and Health (HBH) Laboratory
Director: Dr. Melissa Liebert
Location: Rooms 102 and 104
Dr. Liebert specializes in biocultural anthropology and human evolutionary biology. For over a decade, she has worked with the Shuar Health and Life History Project (SHLHP) to understand how culture change impacts health outcomes among the indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador. Through this work, Dr. Liebert collects and analyzes various ethnographic, lifestyle, and biological measurements and serves as the primary database manager for the SHLHP. She is also involved in a local project that seeks to understand how exposure to physical and psychological stressors influences chronic stress among hotel housekeepers in Flagstaff.
The HBH Lab:
- maintains facilities and equipment to store and prepare various biological samples (e.g., saliva, dried blood spots, urine) for laboratory-based analysis of stress physiology, immune function, and cardiovascular health;
- houses portable equipment for studies of human biology (e.g., body composition instruments, blood pressure monitors, CardioChek PA systems);
- has resources, computers, and statistical software for data entry and database management as well as the secure storage of sensitive data; and
- provides various opportunities for NAU undergraduate and graduate students to learn methods in biocultural anthropology and to engage in human biology research.