Katherine R. Amato

Katherine R. Amato is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University, specializing in biological anthropology with a focus on gut microbiota in host ecology and evolution. Her work bridges primate studies and human health, examining microbial impacts on nutrition, energetics, and adaptation across global populations.

• PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2013)
• Postdoctoral research at University of Colorado Boulder

Her research explores microbial contributions to host survival during food shortages and pregnancy, using non-human primates as models. Key themes include understanding human microbiome uniqueness among primates, fermented food evolution, and health inequity frameworks.

Recent publications analyze metabolome responses to diet, butyrate pathways, health disparities, and fermented food ecology. Awards include CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar (2016-2018), National Geographic Young Explorer (2007), and Fulbright Fellowship (2007).

• 2022: Gut metabolome dynamics in howler monkeys
• 2021: Microbiome contributions to health equity
• 2021: Fermented food consumption in wild primates
• 2021: Host genetic-microbiome interactions
• 2020: Hormonal impacts on leaf monkey microbiome

Amato teaches courses on primates, microbiome analysis, and primate behavior. She serves as President of the Midwest Primate Interest Group, Associate Editor at Microbiome, and on the Executive Committee of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems.