Richard Bribiescas, PhD
Clayton Stephenson / Yale Class of 1954 Professor of Anthropology and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyCards
Contact Info
Yale University
Department of Anthropology, 10 Sachem Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8277
United States
About
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Titles
Clayton Stephenson / Yale Class of 1954 Professor of Anthropology and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Biography
Richard Bribiescas is Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Anthropology Department. He is also Director of the Yale Reproductive Ecology Laboratory and the Program in Reproductive Ecology, a YIBSsponsored research initiative. His most notable research involves the evolutionary biology and endocrinology of human and comparative life histories, reproduction, aging, and metabolism. He has conducted field research among the Ache of Paraguay as well as populations in Venezuela, Japan, Ecuador, and the United States as well as various species of non-human primates. He is presently collaborating with Professors Larry Sugiyamaand Josh Snodgrass of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon, as well as Professor Felicia Madimenos of the Department of Anthropology at Queen’s College CUNY on the Shuar Health and Life History Project in Ecuador.
Bribiescas received his B.A. in Anthropology and Psychology (double major) from the University of California, Los Angeles, afterwards earning an A.M. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University. Prior to his position at Yale, he was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Reproductive Endocrine Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is author of Men: Evolutionary and Life History (Harvard University Press, 2006), a comprehensive examination of the evolutionary biology of human males which was awarded the 2007 Bronze Medal in the category of science by the Independent Book Publishers Association. In 2007 he was also awarded the Medal of 600 Years Anniversary of the Restoration of the Krakow Academy by Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, for his research in human reproductive ecology.
Professor Bribiescas serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Human Biology, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, and the Annual Review of Anthropology. Current courses taught by Professor Bribiescas include Human Evolutionary Biology and Life History, as well as graduate seminars in behavioral endocrinology, reproductive ecology, aging, and life history theory. A list of publications and laboratory information can be found here.
Appointments
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Post Doctoral Researcher
- Massachusetts General Hospital (1998)
- PhD
- Harvard University, Anthropology (1997)
- MA
- Harvard University, Anthropology (1994)
- BA
- University of California, Los Angeles, Anthropology and Psychology (double major) (1988)
Research
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Overview
Richard Bribiescas received his M.A. and Ph.D. at Harvard University. His work on Leptin associations with age, weight, and sex among chimpanzees was featured in the Journal of Medical Primatology. In addition to published articles, Dr. Bribiescas has written a book titled “Men: Evolutionary Life and History.”
ORCID
0000-0002-8228-307X- View Lab Website
Reproductive Ecology Laboratory
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Nicola Hawley, PhD
Victoria Harries
Catherine Panter-Brick
Claudia Valeggia, PhD
Publications
2026
Navigating Practical, Political, and Ethical Challenges of Long‐Term Human Biology Field Research: The Shuar Health and Life History Project
Snodgrass J, Madimenos F, Liebert M, Urlacher S, Cepon‐Robins T, Gildner T, Bribiescas R, Sugiyama L. Navigating Practical, Political, and Ethical Challenges of Long‐Term Human Biology Field Research: The Shuar Health and Life History Project. American Journal Of Human Biology 2026, 38: e70262. PMID: 41999134, PMCID: PMC13090807, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.70262.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricIndustrialization increases the estrogen-recycling capacity of the gut microbiome
Brittain R, Bribiescas R, Jasienska G. Industrialization increases the estrogen-recycling capacity of the gut microbiome. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2026, 123: e2523589123. PMID: 41973926, PMCID: PMC13099636, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2523589123.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricNurturing Bonds: A Qualitative Exploration of Breastfeeding and Responsive Feeding Practices in Samoan Mother‐Infants Dyads
Victoria B, Katherine D, Kemper L, Lupesina V, Vaimoana F, Kima F, Rafael P, Amber H, Take N, Christina S, Jyothi A, Bribiescas R, Hawley N. Nurturing Bonds: A Qualitative Exploration of Breastfeeding and Responsive Feeding Practices in Samoan Mother‐Infants Dyads. American Journal Of Human Biology 2026, 38: e70241-e70241. PMID: 41923391, PMCID: PMC13178251, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.70241.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricReproductive Ecology and Evolutionary Anthropology: Foundations, Unanswered Questions, and Future Directions
Bribiescas R, Ellison P. Reproductive Ecology and Evolutionary Anthropology: Foundations, Unanswered Questions, and Future Directions. American Journal Of Human Biology 2026, 38: e70225. PMID: 41858219, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.70225.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricMarket Integration and Reproductive Transitions Among Indigenous Shuar and Neighboring Nonindigenous Ecuadorians in Amazonian Ecuador
Madimenos F, Liebert M, Cepon‐Robins T, Gildner T, Urlacher S, Bribiescas R, Blackwell A, Snodgrass J, Sugiyama L. Market Integration and Reproductive Transitions Among Indigenous Shuar and Neighboring Nonindigenous Ecuadorians in Amazonian Ecuador. American Journal Of Human Biology 2026, 38: e70232. PMID: 41772909, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.70232.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricReproductive and metabolic hormone associations in adult Samoan males with and without obesity
Bribiescas R, Wiley K, Sancilio A, Panter-Brick C, Viali S, Reupena M, Naseri T, Hawley N, Messerlian G, McGarvey S. Reproductive and metabolic hormone associations in adult Samoan males with and without obesity. Evolution Medicine And Public Health 2026, 14: eoag001. PMID: 41890353, PMCID: PMC13014357, DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoag001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
2025
Salivary Testosterone, Age, and Adiposity Associations Among Shuar Males in Amazonian Ecuador Challenge Assumptions of “Normal” Testosterone Patterns
Gildner T, Liebert M, Schrock J, Urlacher S, Amir D, Harrington C, Madimenos F, Cepon‐Robins T, Bribiescas R, Sugiyama L, Snodgrass J. Salivary Testosterone, Age, and Adiposity Associations Among Shuar Males in Amazonian Ecuador Challenge Assumptions of “Normal” Testosterone Patterns. American Journal Of Human Biology 2025, 37: e70166. PMID: 41175035, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.70166.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricAssociations between maternal and infant body composition, feeding practices, and perceived infant eating behaviour in Samoan mother–infant dyads aged 1–4 months
Bertacchi V, Daiy K, Vesi L, Faaselele-Savusa K, Duckham R, Naseri T, Soti-Ulberg C, Abraham J, Bribiescas R, Hawley N. Associations between maternal and infant body composition, feeding practices, and perceived infant eating behaviour in Samoan mother–infant dyads aged 1–4 months. Annals Of Human Biology 2025, 52: 2534349. PMID: 40762381, DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2025.2534349.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricSoil‐Transmitted Helminths and the Intricacies of Immunoregulation: Evidence From Amazonian Ecuador for the Importance of Considering Species‐Specific Effects Within the Old Friends Hypothesis
Cepon‐Robins T, Gildner T, Urlacher S, Liebert M, Madimenos F, Bribiescas R, Eick G, Harrington C, Sugiyama L, Snodgrass J. Soil‐Transmitted Helminths and the Intricacies of Immunoregulation: Evidence From Amazonian Ecuador for the Importance of Considering Species‐Specific Effects Within the Old Friends Hypothesis. American Journal Of Human Biology 2025, 37: e70076-e70076. PMID: 40444920, PMCID: PMC12175971, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.70076.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricTestosterone, 8‐Oxo‐2′‐Deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) and Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) in Adult Shuar Males of Amazonian Ecuador: A Test for Evidence of Trade‐Offs Between Reproductive Effort and Oxidative Stress
Bribiescas R, Sancilio A, Amir D, Cepon‐Robins T, Gildner T, Liebert M, Madimenos F, Urlacher S, Snodgrass J, Sugiyama L. Testosterone, 8‐Oxo‐2′‐Deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) and Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) in Adult Shuar Males of Amazonian Ecuador: A Test for Evidence of Trade‐Offs Between Reproductive Effort and Oxidative Stress. American Journal Of Human Biology 2025, 37: e70042. PMID: 40231632, DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.70042.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Activities
activity Shuar Health and Life History Project
01/01/2012 - PresentResearchDetailsEcuadorAbstract/SynopsisA collaborative longitudinal study of the health and biocultural effects of market integration and acculturation among native Shuar people of southeastern Ecuador.
activity Chimpanzee Behavior in Kibale National Park, Uganda
01/01/2008 - PresentResearchDetailsUgandaAbstract/SynopsisThis project involves long-term field research on the behavior and ecology of a chimpanzee community at Ngogo, one of two research sites maintained by the Makerere University Biological Field Station in Kibale National Park, and associated research on other primate species and on forest ecology. (Africa)
activity Ovarian Function Study
01/01/2008 - PresentResearchDetailsPolandAbstract/SynopsisProfessor Bribiescas is involved in a collaborative investigation with colleagues at Jagiellonian University into the effects of aging and energetics on ovarian function in rural Polish women.
Get In Touch
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Contacts
Yale University
Department of Anthropology, 10 Sachem Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8277
United States
Locations
10 Sachem Street
Academic Office
Ste 232
New Haven, CT 06511