About
The LAB supports research in anthropology and global health. Our focus is on the intersection of anthropology and health, including the fast-growing fields of Evolutionary Medicine and Public Health and Biomedical Anthropology. We work internationally and locally, with projects in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; Lagos and Enugu, Nigeria; Matlab, Bangladesh; Yunnan, China; Vanuatu; and upstate New York. We work on questions of nutrition, infectious disease risk, and chronic disease risk, and participants in our research include infants, children, and adults. We collaborate with multiple US and international research institutes and universities.
Technology
Most of the research the LAB supports is conducted far outside of a clinical setting, often in remote and challenging field sites. We specialize in gathering heath and biological information through techniques that are minimally-invasive and robust to difficult field conditions, including unreliable or absent electricity, limited or absent clean water, long travel times and poor road conditions, and high humidity and dust.
To facilitate population-based research in challenging and remote field settings, we rely on "rough-tech", cost-effective tools, such as minimally-invasive specimen collection techniques, analysis of alternative biological specimen types, and point-of-care microdevices.
Anthropometry
We use robust, transportable, low-cost instruments to measure physical characteristics such as height, weight, waist circumference, skin-fold thicknesses, and bioelectrical impedance in a non-invasive manner.
Biomarkers
We use both traditional and multiplex enzyme immunoassay systems to evaluate a variety of biomarkers—measurable characteristics, including biological products circulating in blood, secreted in saliva, or excreted in urine, that provide information about an entire physiological system—including indicators of inflammation, nutrition, and stress.
Specimen Types
We use alternative specimen types (e.g., hair, urine, or saliva instead of serum or plasma), specimen collection techniques (e.g., finger sticks instead of venipuncture), and specimen storage techniques (e.g., dried blood spots instead of isolated serum or plasma) to minimize participant burden and need for immediate processing and cold storage of specimens.
Point-of-Care Measurement
We use "point of care" (POC) diagnostic tools—such as hemoglobinometers to identify anemia and hematofluorometers to identify iron deficiency—to minimize needs for cold storage and transportation of specimens and to provide useful information to our local healthcare provider partners.
Partnerships
In addition to “rough-tech” data and specimen collection techniques, we work with local partners to conduct laboratory analysis of specimens as close as possible to the point of collection. Our international partners include the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute; the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh; Fudan University; and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. Partnering with these research institutes minimizes costs and risks associated with transporting specimens and enhances research through the insights of local experts.
Students
The LAB supports graduate student training and independent research through Binghamton University’s PhD in Biological Anthropology and MS in Biomedical Anthropology programs. Student trainees have completed internships in the LAB’s facility at Binghamton University and at our field site in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and have on-going independent research projects in upstate New York. The LAB works in partnership with other Binghamton University laboratories to support student training and research. Interested students should read LAB Director Kathy Wander’s expectations for trainees carefully and reach out via email to discuss research interests and availability of training opportunities in the LAB well in advance of preparing an application.