Dawn Neill

Dawn Neill serves as a Professor at California Polytechnic State University, teaching foundational anthropology courses including Cultural Anthropology (ANT 201), Biological Anthropology (ANT 250), Culture and Health (ANT 401), and Nutritional Anthropology (ANT 402).

Her research specializes in human behavioral ecology, nutritional anthropology, the ecology of obesity, and urban anthropology, with extensive fieldwork across South Asia (among Bengali and Khasi communities), Fiji (with Indo-Fijians), and the United States (studying public school children in Louisiana and Washington). She integrates ecological and evolutionary frameworks into her teaching to contextualize anthropological concepts, fostering critical thinking and holistic perspectives that prepare students for global engagement. This interdisciplinary methodology bridges theoretical knowledge with practical applications in health and cultural studies.