Katherine Sayre

Katherine Sayre is a Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on the intersection of human biology, lifestyle, and health in aging populations, particularly among non-Western groups. She works with the Tsimané Health and Life History Project in Bolivia, examining how social relationships and communities influence physical and cognitive health in older adults. Her interdisciplinary background spans anthropology, gerontology, public health, and demography.

Educational Background:

• B.A. in Anthropology and French (University of Texas at Austin)
• M.S. in Anthropology (University of Arizona)
• Ph.D. in Integrative and Evolutionary Biology (University of Southern California, 2023)

Research Interests:

Dr. Sayre investigates how physical activity patterns, social structures, and environmental factors shape health outcomes in aging populations. Her work emphasizes comparative studies of hunter-gatherer and pastoralist societies, including the Hadza of Tanzania, the Pokot of Kenya, and the Tsimané of Bolivia. She explores cognitive-locomotor interactions, the biological impacts of sedentary behavior, and the role of genetics (e.g., APOE-ε4) in brain health. Methodologically, she employs proteomic analysis, accelerometer data, and epidemiological approaches.

Labs/Teams: Active contributor to the Tsimané Health and Life History Project and the UCSB Anthropology Department’s aging research initiatives.