Carolyn Hodges-Simeon

Carolyn Hodges-Simeon is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Boston University, with a secondary affiliation in the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program. Her interdisciplinary research integrates human evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, and biomedical anthropology to examine the origins of biological and developmental variation. She holds a PhD and MA from UC Santa Barbara and additional degrees from the College of William and Mary and The Colorado College.

Her work focuses on two key areas: adaptive developmental plasticity in sex-typical traits during puberty and adolescence, and the evolutionary origins of sex/gender differences. She employs laboratory-based methods to study vocal characteristics and their relationship to immune function, sexual selection, and health. Recent studies include investigations into the association between masculine voices and mucosal immunity, as well as the role of testosterone in shaping gender presentation among transgender individuals.

• Education:
• PhD, UC Santa Barbara
• MA, UC Santa Barbara
• MA, College of William and Mary
• BA, The Colorado College

Her research has been published in journals such as Evolution and Human Behavior and Scientific Reports, with a focus on topics like facial morphology, voice pitch, and health-related behaviors. She teaches courses including Human Biology, Evolutionary Psychology, and Evolutionary Medicine.