Amy Non

Dr. Amy Non is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), specializing in molecular anthropology and social epigenomics. She holds a B.S. in Biology and Anthropology from Brandeis University (2004), an MPH from the University of Florida (2009), a Ph.D. in Anthropology (2010), and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar (2010-2012). Her research focuses on how sociocultural experiences early in life become biologically embedded, particularly through epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation and microRNA variation in human milk. Key areas include racial inequalities in health, critiques of race-based medical algorithms, and the intergenerational transmission of health disparities among vulnerable populations such as Mexican immigrants and Romanian orphans. Her work has been featured in The Lancet, CHEST, and Epigenomics, among others.

• Primary affiliation: Department of Anthropology, UCSD
• Research lab: Investigates epigenetic effects of stress, maternal mental health, and racial biases in diagnostics

Her research agenda addresses three core themes: 1) critiquing racialized genetic research, 2) analyzing biases in medical devices like spirometers, and 3) studying social epigenomics in contexts of adversity. Recent work highlights maternal stress biomarkers and the societal impacts of conflating genetic ancestry with race.

Notable contributions include demonstrating how race-specific spirometry equations exacerbate respiratory health disparities and revealing epigenetic correlates of childhood adversity in orphans. Her lab also explores miRNA in breast milk as a biomarker of maternal stress.

Grants and collaborations include NIH-funded studies on immigrant health resilience and interdisciplinary projects with public health researchers. She advises graduate students on epigenetic methods and health equity topics.

Labs/Teams: Directs her own research group at UCSD, collaborating with institutions like Vanderbilt University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.