معرفی
Thomas McDade is the Carlos Montezuma Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University and a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. He directs the Laboratory for Human Biology Research, the Cells to Society (C2S) Center on Social Disparities and Health, and the Graduate Cluster in Society, Biology, and Health. His research integrates biological anthropology with public health to examine how social environments shape biology and health across the lifespan.
McDade earned his PhD from Emory University in 1999. His training in biological anthropology underpins his innovative approaches to population health.
Specializing in biosocial perspectives, McDade investigates stress, immune function, and health inequities using minimally-invasive methods. His fieldwork spans Samoa, Bolivia, Ecuador, and the Philippines, focusing on how globalization and early life conditions affect human development. Current work addresses US health disparities, particularly among LGBTQ+ populations and communities of color, examining the biological embedding of social adversity.
His 2025 publications reveal a strong emphasis on early life programming of adult health (e.g., breastfeeding effects), social determinants of inflammation (e.g., discrimination, teacher unfairness), and methodological advances in dried blood spot analysis and epigenetic aging. Research contexts range from the Philippines to Chicago, highlighting global and local health inequities.
McDade's accolades include:
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE, 2002)
- Membership in the National Academy of Sciences
- Membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
He has received continuous funding from NSF, NIH, and Wenner-Gren Foundation. As a mentor, he advises graduate students and leads the Society, Biology, and Health Graduate Cluster. His grants support interdisciplinary projects on stress physiology, health disparities, and biosocial methods.
McDade's leadership in the Laboratory for Human Biology Research enables cutting-edge field collection of biological samples. The C2S Center bridges social science and biology to uncover mechanisms of health inequities. The Graduate Cluster trains scholars in integrated approaches to health and society.
