Benjamin Campbell
campbelb@uwm.eduSabin Hall 125CCurriculum Vitae

Benjamin Campbell

Associate Professor

Degree(s)

PhD, Biological Anthropology, Harvard University, 1990
MA, Anthropology, Harvard University, 1986
MA, Zoology, Indiana University, 1983
BA, Biology, Indiana University, 1982

Courses Taught

Anthro 203 - Indigenous Religion
Anthro 301 - Human Evolution and Variation
Anthro 404 - Hormones and Behavior
Anthro 406: Evolutionary Biology & Human Diseases
Anthro 407 - Neuroanthropology
Anthro 446: Child in Different Cultures

Research

My research falls in with life history; the evolutionary study of the human life course.  I focus on steroid hormones as a critical link between energetics, the brain and the timing of childhood growth, pubertal maturation, and senescence. My early work included fieldwork among Turkana and Ariaal pastoralists of northern Kenya, as well as school boys in Zimbabwe. I focused on the impact of ecological factors on hormones (mostly testosterone) on male puberty and aging. Since then, I have shifted my attention to adrenarche (the onset of adrenal DHEAS production) and its role in middle childhood, including a series of theoretical papers suggesting that the emergence of middle childhood is related to the impact of DHEAS on brain development in humans and the great apes. Most recently, I have begun to explore the development of adiposity among foraging population for what they can tell us about the evolution of  energetic trade-offs in human growth and development. I have also supervised graduate students on topics ranging from primate growth, development & reproduction, to the understanding of evolution among museum patrons and college students, to chronic pain among global war on terrorism veterans.

Link to my ResearchGate site
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Benjamin-Campbell-5

Other Relevant Activities

Co-organizer, Human Migration Conference, University of Kansas, March 1 & 2, 2010

Selected Publications

Campbell B.C., Hackman, J.V., Kramer, K.L. (2023) Development of Adiposity among Ju/’Hoansi Hunter-Gatherers. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 18(2):173-181.

Campbell, B. C. San Trance Dance: Lived Experience and Neurological Mechanism. Religion, Brain & Behavior.
Campbell, B. C. (2021, May). Commentary on Adrenarche and Middle Childhood. Journal of Neurobiology and Physiology, 3(2), 24-28.
Campbell, B. C. (2020, February). DHEAS & Human Development: An Evolutionary Perspective. Frontiers in Paediatric Endocrinology, 11, 101.
Farooqi, N. A., Scotti, M., Yu, A., Lew, J., Monnier, P., Botteron, K. N., Campbell, B. C., Booij, L., Herba, C. M., Seguin, J. R., Castellanos-Ryan, N., McCraken, J. T., & Nguyen, V. T. (2019). Sex-specific contribution of DHEA-Cortisol ratio to Prefrontal-hippocampal structural development, cognitive abilities and personality traits. Journal of NeuroEndocrinology, 31, e12682.
Dunk, R., Petto, A., Mayer, G., Campbell, B., & (2015). Seasonality of Conceptions in Captive Rhesus Macaques. International Journal of Primatology, 36, 855-860.
Barone, L., Andrew, P., & Campbell, B. C. (2014). Predictors of Evolution Acceptance in a Musem Population. Evolution, Education and OutReach, 7, 23.
Campbell, B. C. (2012). Stone Age Body Image: Male Embodiment and Vitality in Subsistence Societies. Downey, G., & Lende, D. (Eds.). The Encultured Brain: An Introduction To Neuroanthropology, 237-259.
Campbell, B. C. (2011). Adrenarche and Middle Childhood. Human Nature, 22, 327-349.
Campbell, B. C., Gray, P. B., & Radak, J. (2011). In the Company of Men: Quality of Life and Social Support Among the Ariaal of Northern Kenya. Cross-Cultural Journal of Gerontology, 26, 221-237.