Brandon McDonald

Brandon McDonald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Classical Studies and History at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences, holding the Rumsey Family Assistant Professorship in Interdisciplinary Studies with a secondary appointment in Environmental Studies.

His educational background includes:

• Doctor of Philosophy, Oxford University, 2021
• Master of Philosophy, Oxford University, 2017
• Bachelor of Arts, Columbia University, 2015

McDonald's research centers on human-environment interaction in the ancient Mediterranean, with specialized focus on climatic change and infectious disease impacts on Graeco-Roman societies. His work bridges environmental history, Roman archaeology (particularly Eastern Mediterranean), economic systems, and ancient urban development through interdisciplinary methodologies.

His 2021-2025 publications reveal consistent exploration of pandemic-climate-economy intersections in antiquity, featuring the Justinianic/Antonine plagues and Roman environmental stressors. These studies integrate archaeological field data with historical analysis to demonstrate how disease vectors and climate shifts triggered societal transformations across the Mediterranean world.

As Co-PI of the Küçükçekmece Lagoon excavation (Istanbul), McDonald leads fieldwork in Turkey, Italy, Egypt, and Greenland's ice core teams, supported by grants enabling transnational research collaboration on ancient environmental crises.

He currently develops the monograph 'Pestilence in Antiquity: The Expansion of Infectious Disease in the Greco-Roman Mediterranean' while teaching courses spanning ancient ecology, disease history, Roman urbanism, and archaeological economics.