Cait McPherson

Biography

Before joining the SMCM Anthropology Department, I graduated from the University of Arizona with a Ph.D. in biological anthropology and a minor in archaeology. I'm broadly interested in the ways that developmental experiences shape aspects of our physiology, contribute to phenotypic variation, and impact health outcomes. My research program explores aspects of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis in archaeological and historical research contexts, and my dissertation examined the relationship between episodes of developmental stress and life history trade-offs involving growth and survival in a 13th century Pueblo from Northern Arizona. During my time as a postdoc at the University of New Mexico, I worked with members of the Anthropology Department's Bridge Laboratory to explore how gestational stress relates to measures of developmental instability and constrained growth in a modern pediatric skeletal sample from Albuquerque. I am currently examining the impact of gestational stress on patterns of growth, morbidity, and mortality in this sample, a project that involves analyzing digital skeletal and dental data from CT scans. Since 2015, I’ve also conducted bioarchaeological field work in support of the La Playa Archaeological Project and the Arizona State Museum Bioarcheology Lab, as well as ethnographic field work for the National Park Service.

During my down time, I'm a big fan of trail running and hiking (with my dog, Wendy), gardening (badly), and pen and ink illustration.