Zaneta M. Thayer
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Zaneta Thayer is a biological anthropologist whose research program investigates how environments shape patterns of human biology and health. Her research addresses three broad themes (1) Racialized health inequities; (2) Developmental plasticity, evolution, and health; and (3) Maternal health and well-being. Together, these themes allow her to produce research of interest to evolutionary anthropologists, public health professionals, and her study populations.
Contact
Department(s)
Anthropology
Education
- Ph. D. Northwestern University
- A.B. Dartmouth College
Selected Publications
2025. Thayer, Z., Bufferini, R., Tovo-Rodrigues, L., Oliveira de Oliveira, I., Hallal, P., Rivera, L. M., & Freitas Silveira, M. Evolved birth physiology meets modern birth practice: Sustained effects of planned cesarean delivery on child hair cortisol in Brazil. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
2025. Uwizeye, G., Rivera, L. M., Stolrow, H. G., Christensen, B. C., Rutherford, J. N., & Thayer, Z. Prenatal exposure to genocide accelerates epigenetic aging in third- and fourth-generation clocks among young adults in Rwanda. Nature Communications Medicine, 5, 346. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01065-5
2024. Rivera, L., Uwizeye, G., Stolrow, H., Christensen, C., Rutherford, J., & Thayer, Z. Prenatal exposure to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is associated with DNA methylation at candidate genes in early adulthood: The role of trauma severity and postnatal adversity. Nature Scientific Reports, 14, 27879. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-78035-9
2023 Thayer, Z. M., Geisel-Zamora, S. A., Uwizeye, G., & Gildner, T. E. Childbirth fear in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic: key predictors and associated birth outcomes. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 11(1), 101-111.