Amy M. Boddy

Amy M. Boddy is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Her research bridges evolutionary biology, genomics, and human health, with a focus on life history theory and biological trade-offs. She leads the Boddy Lab, which investigates cancer resistance across species, microchimerism in human health, and evolutionary applications to reproductive biology.

• Affiliations: Arizona Cancer Evolution Center, Broom Center for Demography, Integrative Anthropological Sciences
• Contact: boddy@anth.ucsb.edu | +1 (805) 893-2456 | @amy_boddy

Research Highlights: Using comparative genomics, her work explores Peto’s Paradox (cancer prevalence across species), evolutionary trade-offs between reproduction and disease defense, and microchimerism’s role in maternal health. Recent studies analyze immune profiles in postpartum mothers, cancer resistance in elephants, and cross-species patterns in female health vulnerabilities.

Scientific Awards:

• UCSB Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award (2023)
• 2023 STAT Wunderkind Award

Projects: The lab collaborates with Kenya Wildlife Services on wildlife cancer studies and received a John Templeton Grant for evolutionary research on microchimerism. They recently launched a dedicated website for microchimerism studies and contributed to an interdisciplinary art-science exhibit on reproductive biology.