Sarah Myers

Sarah Myers is a Researcher and Group Leader of the Lise-Meitner 'BirthRites' Group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Kent (2017), an MPhil in Biological Anthropology from the University of Cambridge (2005), and a BA in Human Sciences from the University of Oxford (2004). Prior roles include lectureships in evolutionary anthropology at the University of Roehampton and University College London, and a postdoctoral position at the University of Bristol.

Her research focuses on evolutionary insights into maternal-child health, leveraging social network analysis to study childcare support systems in the UK and cultural norms around female genital mutilation (FGM) in Ethiopia. Key areas include postnatal depression, breastfeeding dynamics, and the interplay between social environments and reproductive decision-making. Myers received the ISEMPH George C. Williams Prize for her work on postnatal depression and future childbearing.

Her grants include leading roles in interdisciplinary projects on cooperative breeding (Co-PI, 2023), breastfeeding ideology (Co-PI, 2021), and maternal support during the pandemic (PI, 2020). Notable publications span Nature Human Behaviour, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, and Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health.

• Grants:
  • Institute of Advanced Studies Toulouse Multidisciplinary Prize (2023)
  • British Academy Small Research Grant (2021)
  • British Academy Special Research Awards (2020)
• Advising & Grants:
  • Co-led projects on FGM transmission and breastfeeding support
  • Pioneered mobile health methodologies for real-time infant feeding data
• Labs/Teams:
  • Lise-Meitner 'BirthRites' Group
  • Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture