Stephanie Fox is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Anthropology. She uses cross-species data from humans and non-human primates to investigate the evolutionary roots of human social behaviour, particularly female social relationships and cooperation. Her work focuses on the benefits of sociality, variables that constrain individuals from achieving their optimal social phenotypes, and how both benefits and constraints of sociality change in different life phases. Demography plays a key role in predicting access to different types of social partners over the lifespan, particularly with respect to the availability of related partners. Dr. Fox's recent work examines how a female's reproductive history shapes her access to offspring as social partners, and how adult offspring promote or constrain the social integration of their ageing mothers. Her work draws on long-term field observations of wild primates, including chimpanzees and blue monkeys, and laboratory analyses of biomarkers from non-invasively collected biological samples. She also leads an interdisciplinary working group dedicated to synthesizing cross-species and cross-cultural research to build holistic, evolutionary perspectives on human social ageing. 

I have a keen interest in exploring how immigration, gender dynamics, and family structures are influenced by policy and socio-economic factors. My research aims to illuminate the complex interplay between these elements and their impact on fertility choices and demographic shifts, particularly within immigrant communities.

Kristine Joy Chua is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara. Her work integrates evolutionary and biocultural perspectives for understanding human pregnancy and maternal-fetal stress biology in populations experiencing social and health inequalities. She works closely with pregnant Filipina women in the Philippines and Filipina American mothers in Southern California. She also examines the role cultural practices play in shaping health norms. Currently, she is exploring how the bidirectional exchange of maternal and fetal cells is sustained during pregnancy, and how the maternal immune system maintains tolerance for these fetal cells using a mixed-methods approach. In addition to her academic work, she maintains her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through undergraduate mentorship, partnerships with K-12 educators, and collaborations with community stakeholders. She earned her BS in Psychobiology from UC Los Angeles, her MS in Psychology from Oklahoma State University, and her PhD from UC Los Angeles.