Michael D. Gurven
| Michael D. Gurven | |
|---|---|
 Michael D. Gurven.jpeg Michael D. Gurven | |
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Pennsylvania State University (B.A., 1996); University of New Mexico (Ph.D., 2000) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Co-founder and co-director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project |
Michael D. Gurven is an American anthropologist and Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He is co-founder and co-director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, a long-running biomedical and anthropological study of the Tsimane people of the Bolivian Amazon. His research integrates biodemography, human biology, and evolutionary anthropology to study human life history, aging, cardiovascular health, the evolution of cooperation, and health effects of modernization. He is the author of Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer (Princeton University Press, 2025).[1]
Early life and education
Gurven earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in anthropology and mathematics from Pennsylvania State University in 1996.[2] He completed his Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of New Mexico in 2000; his doctoral dissertation was titled To Give and Give Not: The Evolutionary Ecology of Hunter‑Gatherer Food Transfers.[3] His primary Ph.D. advisor was Kim Hill.[4] Early fieldwork and comparative research included work with the Ache, Hiwi, and Tsimane peoples.[5]
Academic career
Gurven joined the UCSB Department of Anthropology as an assistant professor in 2001 and received tenure in 2007. He was promoted to full professor in 2011 and was named Distinguished Professor in 2024.[2] He chaired the Integrative Anthropological Sciences unit from its inauguration in 2008 through 2022; he is not currently chair.[6] He has served as Associate Director of the Broom Center for Demography and is core faculty in UCSB's Center for Aging and Longevity, and he is principal investigator on multiple NSF and NIH grants supporting work in demography, cardiology, infectious disease, and evolutionary medicine.[7]
Research
Gurven is co-founder and co-director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project (since c.2002), which follows thousands of Tsimane individuals and produces longitudinal biomedical and demographic data. Major findings from the project and Gurven's publications include:
- Very low levels of coronary atherosclerosis among the Tsimane compared with many industrialized populations.[8]
- Rapidly declining average body temperature in a tropical human population (2004–2018), consistent with broader trends.[9]
- Parasite infection patterns with measurable effects on fertility, immune function, and cardiovascular risk factors in the population.[10][11]
- Minimal evidence for a universal mid‑life happiness dip in non‑industrial populations; coverage and commentary appear in Science News.[12][13]
- Evidence for slower brain aging and low arterial stiffness among elderly Tsimane relative to many industrialized cohorts.[14]
- A conserved post‑menopausal rise in low‑density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol across populations despite generally low cholesterol among the Tsimane.[15]
Gurven and colleagues have emphasized that systemic inflammation in the Tsimane is high because of infectious burden but does not increase with age, unlike the "inflammaging" pattern commonly observed in urban industrial populations.[16][17][18]
Awards and honours
- Harold J. Plous Award for exceptional achievement in research, teaching and service, UC Santa Barbara (2004).[19]
- Early Career Award, Human Behavior and Evolution Society (HBES) (2010).[20]
- Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2022).[2]
Media and public engagement
Gurven's research has received widespread media attention. He discussed cultural barriers to healthcare access in high‑mortality settings on NPR.[21] His work has been discussed in major outlets including The Washington Post, Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, and The New York Times.[22] He appeared on the Zombified podcast (2020).[23]
Selected publications
- Kaplan H.,..., Gurven, M., Thomas, G. Coronary atherosclerosis in indigenous South American Tsimane: a cross‑sectional cohort study. Lancet. 2017;389(10080):1730–1739. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30752-3.[8]
- Gurven M, Kaplan H. Longevity Among Hunter‑Gatherers: A Cross-Cultural Examination. Population and Development Review. 2007;33(2):321–365.[24]
- Davison R, Gurven M. “The importance of elders: extending Hamilton’s force of selection to include intergenerational transfers”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2022;119(28):e2200073119.[25]
- Gurven M, Stieglitz J, Trumble B, Blackwell AD, Beheim B, Davis H, Hooper P, Kaplan H. “The Tsimane Health and Life History Project: Integrating anthropology and biomedicine”. Evolutionary Anthropology. 2017;26(2):54–73.[26]
- Gurven M, Sarrieddine A, Lea A. “Health Disparities Among Indigenous Peoples: Exploring the Roles of Evolutionary and Developmental Mismatch on Cardiometabolic Health”. Annual Review of Anthropology. 2024;53:55–73. doi:10.1146/annurev-anthro-041222-101445.[27]
Books
- Gurven, Michael D. Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer. Princeton University Press, 2025.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer". Princeton University Press. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Michael D. Gurven — CV" (PDF). UC Santa Barbara. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ Gurven, Michael D. (2000). "To Give and Give Not: The Evolutionary Ecology of Hunter‑Gatherer Food Transfers". Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Kim Hill — CV". Arizona State University. p. 21. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Gurven Lab — Research Overview". Gurven Lab, UCSB. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Gurven Lab — UCSB". UC Santa Barbara. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Gurven Lab — Grants & Projects". Gurven Lab, UCSB. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kaplan H, Thompson RC, Trumble BC, Wann LS, Allam AH, Beheim B, Frohlich B, Sutherland ML, Sutherland JD, Stieglitz J, Rodriguez DE, Michalik DE, Rowan CJ, Lombardi GP, Bedi R, Garcia AR, Min JK, Narula J, Finch CE, Gurven M, Thomas GS (2017). "Coronary atherosclerosis in indigenous South American Tsimane: a cross‑sectional cohort study". The Lancet. 389 (10080): 1730–1739. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30752-3. PMID 28320636.
- ↑ Gurven, Michael; Kraft, Thomas S.; Alami, Stephanie; Copajira, Juvencio; Cortez-Linares, Eder; Cummings, Daniel; Rodriguez, David E.; Hooper, Paul L.; Jaeggi, Adrian V.; Quispe Gutierrez, Reyna; Maldonado Suarez, Irene; Seabright, Eric; Kaplan, Hillard; Stieglitz, Jonathan; Trumble, Benjamin C. (2020). "Rapidly declining body temperature in a tropical human population". Science Advances. 6 (44): eabc6599. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.6599G. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abc6599. PMC 7608783 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 33115745 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ "Parasites Found to Influence Fertility in Women". The New York Times. November 24, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ Gurven, Michael; Trumble, Benjamin C.; Stieglitz, Jonathan; Blackwell, Alan D.; Michalik, Daniel E.; Finch, Caleb E.; Kaplan, Hillard (2016). "Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in evolutionary perspective: a critical role for helminths?". Evolution, Medicine & Public Health (1): 338–357. doi:10.1093/emph/eow028. PMC 5101910. PMID 27666719.
- ↑ Gurven, Michael; Buoro, Sebastian; Rodriguez, David E.; Sayre, Matthew; Trumble, Benjamin C.; Pyhala, Anne; Kaplan, Hillard; Angelsen, Arild; Stieglitz, Jonathan; Reyes-Garcia, Victoria (2024). "Subjective well-being across the life course among non-industrialized populations". Science Advances. 10 (43): eado0952. Bibcode:2024SciA...10O.952G. doi:10.1126/sciadv.ado0952. PMC 11498220 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 39441925 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ "The 'midlife crisis' is too simple a story, scientists say". Science News. October 23, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ Kaplan H, Hooper PL, Gatz M, Mack WJ, Law M, Chui H, Sutherland ML, Rowan CJ, Allam AH, Thompson RC, Michalik DE, Lombardi GP, Miyamoto M, Rodriguez DE, Copajira J, Quispe Gutierrez R, Beheim B, Cummings D, Seabright E, Alami S, Garcia AR, Buetow K, Thomas GS, Finch CE, Stieglitz J, Trumble BC, Gurven M, Irimia A (2023). "Brain volume, energy balance, and cardiovascular health in two non‑industrial South American populations". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 120 (13). Bibcode:2023PNAS..12005448K. doi:10.1073/pnas.2205448120. PMC 10068758 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 36940322 Check|pmid=value (help). Unknown parameter|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ Getz LM, Aronoff DM, Jenkins JC, Ghafoor M, Vazquez AV, Appel JM, Gatz M, Cummings D, Hooper PL, Beheim B, Buetow K, Finch CE, Thomas GS, Stieglitz J, Gurven M, Kaplan H, Trumble BC (2025). "Higher blood lipid levels after the transition to menopause in two forager‑horticultural populations". Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. 13 (1): 201–214. doi:10.1093/emph/eoaf020. PMC 12409787 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 40917638 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Franck M, Tanner JD, Tennyson AG, Aronoff DM, Cummings D, Garcia AR, Koebele SV, Charifson MA, Ghafoor M, Woolard SJ, Suarez IM, Rodriguez DE, Buetow K, Cohen AA, Stieglitz J, Gurven M, Kaplan H, Trumble BC (2025). "Nonuniversality of inflammaging across human populations". Nature Aging. 5 (8): 1471–1480. doi:10.1038/s43587-025-00888-0. PMID 40588649 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Aronoff DM, Jenkins JC, Garcia AR, Koebele SV, Ghafoor M, Woolard SJ, Charifson MA, Suarez IM, Rodriguez DE, Beheim B, Cummings D, Hooper PL, Kraft TS, Buetow K, Finch CE, Franck M, Cohen AA, Stieglitz J, Gurven M, Kaplan H, Trumble BC (2025). "Inflammaging is minimal among forager‑horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 292 (2053). doi:10.1098/rspb.2025.1111. PMID 40829666 Check
|pmid=value (help). Unknown parameter|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ "A Common Assumption About Aging May Be Wrong, Study Suggests". The New York Times. June 30, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Anthropologist Michael Gurven wins prestigious Plous Award". UC Santa Barbara News. November 17, 2004. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "HBES Awards". Human Behavior & Evolution Society. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Why Bolivia's Tsimane People Avoid Doctors And What Makes Them Change Their Mind". NPR. March 11, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Publications and Media Coverage". Gurven Lab, UCSB. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Adapted for the apocalypse: Mike Gurven". Zombified Podcast. June 5, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ Gurven, Michael; Kaplan, Hillard (2007). "Longevity Among Hunter‑Gatherers: A Cross-Cultural Examination". Population and Development Review. 33 (2): 321–365. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00171.x. JSTOR 25434609.
- ↑ Davison, Raziel; Gurven, Michael (2022). "The importance of elders: extending Hamilton's force of selection to include intergenerational transfers". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119 (28): e2200073119. Bibcode:2022PNAS..11900073D. doi:10.1073/pnas.2200073119. PMID 35867741 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Gurven M, Stieglitz J, Trumble B, Blackwell AD, Beheim B, Davis H, Hooper P, Kaplan H (2017). "The Tsimane Health and Life History Project: Integrating anthropology and biomedicine". Evolutionary Anthropology. 26 (2): 54–73. doi:10.1002/evan.21515. PMC 5421261. PMID 28429567.
- ↑ Gurven, Michael; Sarrieddine, Amina; Lea, Amanda (2024). "Health Disparities Among Indigenous Peoples: Exploring the Roles of Evolutionary and Developmental Mismatch on Cardiometabolic Health". Annual Review of Anthropology. 53: 55‑73. doi:10.1146/annurev-anthro-041222-101445.
External links
- Gurven Lab — UCSB
- Michael D. Gurven — CV (author‑updated)
- "To Give and Give Not" — Google Books
- Seven Decades — Princeton University Press
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