Herman Pontzer, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

How did the human body evolve, and how does our species' deep past shape our health and physiology today? Through lab and field research, I investigate the physiology of humans and apes to understand how ecology, lifestyle, diet, and evolutionary history affect metabolism and health. I'm also interested in how ecology and evolution influence musculoskeletal design and physical activity. Field projects focus on small-scale societies, including hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers, in Africa and South America. Lab research focuses on energetics and metabolism, including respirometry and doubly labeled water methods.

Contact Info:

Office Location:
Office Phone:	(919) 684-4124
Email Address:

Teaching (Fall 2024):

• EVANTH 101.01, INTRO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 111, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM

• EVANTH 101D.001, INTRO TO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 111, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM

• EVANTH 101D.01D, INTRO TO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 119, M 10:20 AM-11:10 AM

• EVANTH 101D.02D, INTRO TO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 119, M 12:00 PM-12:50 PM

• EVANTH 101D.03D, INTRO TO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 119, M 01:40 PM-02:30 PM

• EVANTH 101D.04D, INTRO TO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 119, M 03:20 PM-04:10 PM

• EVANTH 101D.05D, INTRO TO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 119, Tu 12:00 PM-12:50 PM

• EVANTH 101D.06D, INTRO TO EVOLUTIONARY ANTHRO Synopsis

  Bio Sci 119, Tu 01:40 PM-02:30 PM

• EVANTH 330.01, HUMAN EVOLUTIONARY PHYSIOLOGY Synopsis

  Bio Sci 113, TuTh 10:05 AM-11:20 AM

Education:

Ph.D.

Harvard University

2006

Keywords:

Exercise • Human evolution • Locomotion • Metabolism • Obesity • Public Health

Recent Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. Sercel, AJ; Sturm, G; Gallagher, D; St-Onge, M-P; Kempes, CP; Pontzer, H; Hirano, M; Picard, M, Hypermetabolism and energetic constraints in mitochondrial disorders., Nature metabolism, vol. 6 no. 2 (February, 2024), pp. 192-195 [doi]
2. McGrosky, A; Swanson, ZS; Rimbach, R; Bethancourt, H; Ndiema, E; Nzunza, R; Braun, DR; Rosinger, AY; Pontzer, H, Total daily energy expenditure and elevated water turnover in a small-scale semi-nomadic pastoralist society from Northern Kenya., Annals of human biology, vol. 51 no. 1 (February, 2024), pp. 2310724 [doi]  [abs]
3. Rimbach, R; Pontzer, H, Increased physical activity is not related to markers of cardiometabolic health in two lemur species., American journal of primatology, vol. 86 no. 1 (January, 2024), pp. e23564 [doi]  [abs]
4. Pontzer, H, Correction: 'A unified theory for the energy cost of legged locomotion' (2016), by Pontzer., Biology letters, vol. 19 no. 12 (December, 2023), pp. 20230492 [doi]
5. Trumble, BC; Pontzer, H; Stieglitz, J; Cummings, DK; Wood, B; Emery Thompson, M; Raichlen, D; Beheim, B; Yetish, G; Kaplan, H; Gurven, M, Energetic costs of testosterone in two subsistence populations., American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, vol. 35 no. 11 (November, 2023), pp. e23949 [doi]  [abs]