Zaneta M. Thayer
Associate Professor
Appointments
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Area of Expertise
Human biology,
Intergenerational effects,
Race and racism,
Developmental plasticity,
Maternal and child health,
Health effects of stress and trauma,
Pregnancy and childbirth
Biography
Zaneta Thayer is a biological anthropologist whose research program investigates how environments shape patterns of human biology and health. Her research addresses three broad themes (1) Racialized health inequities; (2) Developmental plasticity, evolution, and health; and (3) Maternal health and well-being. Together, these themes allow her to produce research of interest to evolutionary anthropologists, public health professionals, and her study populations.
Education
Ph. D. Northwestern University
A.B. Dartmouth College
Taught Courses
Publications
2025. Thayer, Z., Bufferini, R., Tovo-Rodrigues, L., Oliveira de Oliveira, I., Hallal, P., Rivera, L. M., & Freitas Silveira, M. Evolved birth physiology meets modern birth practice: Sustained effects of planned cesarean delivery on child hair cortisol in Brazil. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
2025. Uwizeye, G., Rivera, L. M., Stolrow, H. G., Christensen, B. C., Rutherford, J. N., & Thayer, Z. Prenatal exposure to genocide accelerates epigenetic aging in third- and fourth-generation clocks among young adults in Rwanda. Nature Communications Medicine, 5, 346. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01065-5
2024. Rivera, L., Uwizeye, G., Stolrow, H., Christensen, C., Rutherford, J., & Thayer, Z. Prenatal exposure to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is associated with DNA methylation at candidate genes in early adulthood: The role of trauma severity and postnatal adversity. Nature Scientific Reports, 14, 27879. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-78035-9
2023 Thayer, Z. M., Geisel-Zamora, S. A., Uwizeye, G., & Gildner, T. E. Childbirth fear in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic: key predictors and associated birth outcomes. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 11(1), 101-111.
2023 Thayer, Z., Becares, L., Marks, E., Ly, K., & Walker, C. Maternal racism experience and cultural identity in relation to offspring telomere length. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 10458.
2020 Thayer, Z., Rutherford, J., & Kuzawa, C. The Maternal Nutritional Buffering Model: An evolutionary framework for pregnancy nutritional intervention. Evolution,
Medicine, and Public Health (1), 14–27. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoz037
2019 Running Bear, U., Thayer, Z., Croy, C., Kaufman, C., & Manson, S. The impact of individual and parental American Indian boarding school attendance on chronic physical
health of Northern Plains Tribes. Family & Community Health, 42(1), 1–7. doi: 10.1097/fch.0000000000000205
2019 Conching, A and Z. Thayer. "Biological pathways for historical trauma to affect health: a conceptual model focusing on epigenetic modifications." Social Science & Medicine, 230:74-82.
2018 Thayer Z, Wilson MA, Kim AW, Jaeggi AV. "Impact of prenatal stress on offspring glucocorticoid levels: A phylogenetic meta-analysis across 14 vertebrate species." Scientific Reports 8(1):4942.
2017 Fox, M., Thayer., Z., and P. Wadhwa. "Acculturation and health: the moderating role of socio-cultural context" American Anthropologist 119(3): 405-421.
2017 Fox, M., Thayer, Z., and P. Wadhwa. "Conceptualization and operationalization of the construct of acculturation in minority health research." Social Science & Medicine 176: 123-132.
2015 Thayer, Z. and A. Non. "Anthropology meets epigenetics: Current and future directions." American Anthropologist 117(4): 722-735.
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