Ana Magdalena Hurtado

Magdalena Hurtado is a Professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University (ASU), and an Affiliate Faculty member of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation. She joined ASU in 2009 to establish the first anthropology-based Global Health program. Previously, she held positions at Emory University and the University of New Mexico. In 2012, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on mortality reduction, niche construction, and public health, with a focus on indigenous populations like the Ache and Hiwi hunter-gatherers of South America.

Education includes a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Utah (1995), postdoctoral training in epidemiology at the University of Michigan (1991–1992), and community-based participatory research at the University of New Mexico (2002–2004).

Research interests span human ecology, infectious diseases, and evolutionary medicine. Key topics include TB epidemiology among indigenous groups, evolutionary origins of public health behaviors, and the interplay between cultural practices and health outcomes. She has authored/co-authored over 100 publications, including the seminal Ache Life History.

Awards include the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellowship (2012). Grants include funding for studies on disease ecologies in the Nivacle of Paraguay and global health initiatives. She directs the Indigenous Health Sciences and Human Rights Group and the Global Health in Latin America Research Group.

Teaching includes courses like Introduction to Global Health and mentorship in global health and biological anthropology. She has advised grassroots health programs in Paraguay and Venezuela, improving healthcare access and land rights for indigenous communities.