Lee Gettler

Biography

Lee Gettler is a biological anthropologist specializing in human biology, and he is the Director of the Hormones, Health, and Human Behavior Laboratory at Notre Dame. He is also a faculty affiliate of the Eck Institute for Global Health. Much of his early research focused on how men’s hormonal physiology responds to major life transitions, such as marriage and fatherhood, and how men’s hormones relate to their behaviors as parents and partners. He uses a biocultural perspective to explore how the social and cultural contexts of family life intersect with the psychobiology of motherhood and fatherhood, parents’ physical and mental health, and child growth, development, and physiology. Presently, Dr. Gettler works on research projects related to these interests in the United States, the Philippines, and the Republic of Congo. He is leading new work in Republic of the Congo focusing on how shifts towards market-based economies will change psychosocial experiences related to inequality and social networks, including children’s stress-related physiology and epigenetic profiles.