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PPP Internal Seminar: Evolutionary Public Health-From Theory to Cohort Studies and Randomised Trials
07 August 2019, 1:00 pm
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Organiser
-
PPP Admin
Location
-
June Lloyd Room30 Guilford StreetLondonWC1N 1EH
Darwin’s theory of evolution has transformed most areas of biology, but paradoxically medicine lags behind. An evolutionary perspective could particularly benefit public health, with its focus on population-environment interactions. This seminar will describe a conceptual approach linking evolutionary life history theory with (a) the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis and (b) models of social capital and social/gender inequality. I will show how this theoretical framework is being applied to longitudinal cohort studies to improve understanding of why individuals develop differential health, with particular focus on social inequality. I will then discuss randomised trials that test life history theory, and show how it can underpin novel interventions to improve early growth and development
About the Speaker
Jonathan Wells
at UCL ICH PPP
I trained in social and biological anthropology at the University of Cambridge, before doing a PhD in nutrition and biological anthropology at the MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit, Cambridge. I have been at GOSH ICH since 1998, and conduct research on breastfeeding and pediatric growth, body composition and energy metabolism in diverse settings, making particular use of stable isotope methodologies. For the last 15 years, my primary remit has been global health, based on long-term collaborations in many settings, including Brazil, Peru, Ethiopia, Malawi, India, Nepal and Iceland. To complement this empirical research, I have developed an evolutionary theoretical framework to provide novel insights into the ways that environmental factors, particularly social hierarchies, influence our health. I use experimental studies that draw on evolutionary life history theory to support this theoretical perspective.domised trials that test life history theory, and show how it can underpin novel interventions to improve early growth and development.
More about Jonathan Wells