DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

Biological Anthropology
; Growth and Development; Nutrition; South America; Asia; United States

AFFILIATIONS

William Leonard is a biological anthropologist interested in human biology and adaptation to
environmental and social stressors. He has done extensive research on aspects of human energy metabolism, nutritional health, and child growth among indigenous agricultural populations of highland and lowland regions of South America (Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru),  and among indigenous populations of Siberia. This work has focused on how these populations adapt to their ecological and social circumstances, and how the transition to a “modern” diet and lifestyle influences their health and chronic disease risks. Dr. Leonard and colleagues have also explored how major trends in human evolution such as the origin of bipedality and the expansion of hominin brain sizes have shaped the energy and nutritional requirements of our species. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the Leakey Foundation.

Dr. Leonard is the Director of the Accelerated Public Health Program and the Global Health
Concentration of the Master of Public Health Program, and is Co-Director of the Center for
Global Health Education in the Havey Institute for Global Health. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Human Biology. In 2021, Dr. Leonard was honored with the
Franz Boas Distinguished Achievement Award from the Human Biology Association.

RECENT COURSES TAUGHT

Anthropology 101/Biological Sciences 115: First-year Seminar: Biological Thought & Action

Global Health 390/Public Health 390: Introduction to International Health

Anthropology 401-1: Logic of Inquiry – Biological Anthropology

Anthropology 425: Human Population Biology

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Leonard, WR. (2026). Fifty years of research from the Human Biology Association. American
Journal of Human Biology 38(3):e70234.

Leonard, WR. (2025). The Ecology and Human Biology of Pastoralists: Building on the
Contributions of Michael A. Little. American Journal of Human Biology 37(8):e70115.

Leonard, WR, Cameron, N. (2025). Addressing Threats to Research and Global Engagement in
Human Biology. American Journal of Human Biology 37(8):e70116.

Leonard WR. (2024). Pearl Memorial Lecture. Humans at the extremes: Exploring human
adaptation to ecological and social stressors. American Journal of Human Biology 36(3):e24010.

Levy SB, WR Leonard. (2022). The evolutionary significance of human brown adipose tissue:
Integrating the timescales of adaptation. Evolutionary Anthropology 31:75-91.

Levy SB, Klimova TM, Zakharova RN, Fedorov AI, Fedorova VI, Baltakhinova ME, Bondy M,
Atallah D, Thompson-Vasquez J, Dong K, Debertine A, Leonard WR. (2022). Brown adipose
tissue thermogenesis among young adults in northeastern Siberia and Midwest United States and its relationship with other biological adaptations to cold climates. American Journal of Human Biology 34(5):e23723.

Mulligan CJ, DM Boyer, TR Turner, E Delson, WR Leonard. (2022). Data sharing in biological
anthropology. Yearbook of Biological Anthropology 178(Suppl. 74):26-53.

Galvin S, LC Neubauer, WR Leonard, A Doobay-Persaud. (2021). Reassessing global health
education in the age of COVID-19. Academic Medicine 96(5):e20.

Levy SB, TM Klimova, RN Zakharova, AI Fedorov, VI Fedorova, ME Baltakhinova, WR
Leonard. (2021). Evidence for a sensitive period of plasticity in brown adipose tissue during
early childhood among indigenous Siberians. American Journal of Physical Anthropology
175:834-846.

* Bauchet J, E Undurraga, A Zycherman, J Behrman, W Leonard, R Godoy. (2021). The effect of
gender targeting of food transfers on child nutritional status: experimental evidence from the
Bolivian amazon. Journal of Development Effectiveness 13:276-291. 

Leonard WR. (2020). Human biologists confront the COVID-19 pandemic. American
Journal of Human Biology 32(5):e23511.

Leonard WR. (2018). Centennial perspective on human adaptability. American Journal of
Physical Anthropology 165:813-833.