SoS 256: Beyond the Savanna: Human Adaptation in the Age of Cities with Larry Schell

Lawrence M. Schell is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the College of Integrated Health Sciences at the University at Albany, SUNY, with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research explores the interrelationship between biology and culture, with a particular focus on how contemporary urban environments shape human health and development. Dr. Schell’s early work examined noise as a form of urban stress, investigating its effects on prenatal and postnatal growth. He later expanded his research to include pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead, situating these exposures within the broader context of urban adaptation and health disparities. The study of lead exposure in Albany, NY, examined its influence on child physical and cognitive development, with attention to maternal nutrition and other factors that affect the transfer of lead from mother to fetus. In partnership with the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation he has recently completed three major projects. The first examined how PCBs that were used in manufacturing affect physical and sexual development during adolescence. His second project followed up the adolescents in project 1 to learn how exposure had influenced their transition into adulthood. The third project, also conducted with the Akwesasne community, explored how environmental pollutants may impact reproductive health and fertility among women. Through this work, Dr. Schell highlights the urban environment as a critical frontier for human adaptation, emphasizing the challenges posed by pollution, stress, and other features of modern city life while recognizing that these challenges are inequitably distributed in society. In 2004 Schell established a research center at Albany with NIH support to grow research on health disparities. Continued NIH support culminated in an endowment grant that will support the center and the development of health disparities research for many years to come. ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow, E-mail: [email protected]