Skip to content
CIFAR header logo
fr
menu_mobile_logo_alt
  • Our Impact
    • Why CIFAR?
    • News
    • Donor Impact
    • CIFAR 40
  • Events
    • Public Events
    • Invitation-only Meetings
  • Programs
    • Research Programs
    • Pan-Canadian AI Strategy
    • Next Generation Initiatives
  • People
    • Fellows & Advisors
    • CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
    • Canada CIFAR AI Chairs
    • AI Strategy Leadership
    • Solution Network Members
    • Leadership
  • Support Us
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Awards
    • Partnerships
    • Publications & Reports
    • Careers
    • Staff Directory
    • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
  • fr
  • Home
  • Bio

Follow Us

SamuelUrlacher-WebRes_bw

Samuel Urlacher

Appointment

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2020-2022

Child & Brain Development

Connect

website

About

Samuel Urlacher studies global variation in childhood development and the early life origins of metabolic health disparities from an evolutionary and bioenergetic perspective.

His work in the lab and in the field (primarily in Ecuador and Papua New Guinea) draws from many disciplines, including evolutionary biology, anthropology, immunology, nutrition science, psychology, economics, and epidemiology. He is particularly interested in how children allocate calories to competing physiological tasks (e.g., brain development, immune activity, and growth) and the impact of early adversity on lifetime metabolic disease risk (e.g., obesity and chronic inflammation). Much of his current work uses stable isotope-tracking methods to investigate the changes in children’s energy expenditure that may underlie the global nutrition/epidemiologic transition. An important goal of this work is to apply research findings to improve health outcomes.

Awards

  • National Science Foundation SPRF Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  • Harvard University Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellow
  • Human Biology Association Edward E. Hunt, Jr. Award

Relevant Publications

  • Urlacher S.S. et al. (2019). Constraint and trade-offs regulate energy expenditure during childhood. Science Advances 5(12):eaax1065. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax1065.

  • Urlacher S.S. et al. (2018). Tradeoffs between immune function and childhood growth among Amazonian forager-horticulturalists. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115(17):e3914-3921. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717522115.

  • Urlacher S.S. et al. (2018). Global variation in diurnal cortisol rhythms: Evidence from Garisakang forager-horticulturalists of lowland Papua New Guinea. Stress 21(2):101-109. DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2017.1414798.

  • Urlacher S.S. & Kramer K.L. (2018). Evidence for energetic tradeoffs between physical activity and childhood growth across the nutritional transition. Scientific Reports 8(369):1-10. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18738-4.

  • Urlacher S.S. et al. (2016) Heterogeneous effects of market integration on sub-adult body size and nutritional status among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador. Annals of Human Biology 43(4):316-329. DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2016.1192219.

Institution

Baylor University

Department

Department of Anthropology

Education

  • PhD (Human Evolutionary Biology), Harvard University
  • MA (Human Evolutionary Biology), Harvard University
  • BSc (Honors, Human Biology & Anthropology), Brown University

Country

United States

Support Us

CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.

Donate Now
CIFAR header logo

MaRS Centre, West Tower
661 University Ave., Suite 505
Toronto, ON M5G 1M1 Canada

Contact Us
Media
Careers
Accessibility Policies
Supporters
Financial Reports
Subscribe

  • © Copyright 2023 CIFAR. All Rights Reserved.
  • Charitable Registration Number: 11921 9251 RR0001
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap

Subscribe

Stay up to date on news & ideas from CIFAR.

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.
Accept Learn more