Claudia Valeggia

My work is primarily concerned with the interactions between human reproductive biology and the ecological and cultural context in which it develops. My research program takes a biosocial and situated approach, that is, the interplay between biology, society, and culture takes a central role in interpreting the lived experience of humans.

Some of the topics I have explored are the correlates of the return to postpartum fecundity, the variation in reproductive hormonal levels within and between women in relation to environmental variables, growth and development patterns in infants and children, and variation in male and female life history in populations experiencing drastic lifestyle changes. My research interests include human reproductive ecology, reproductive endocrinology, maternal and child health, and health of indigenous people in Latin America.

I am originally from Argentina, from where I received my degree in biology. I got my PhD from the University of California, Davis in 1996. I then went on to do a postdoc at Harvard University and in 2005 I joined the Department of Anthropology at Penn. In 2014, I moved to Yale University where I am a professor in the Department of Anthropology.