Barbara Piperata

Research Interests: My research applies life history theory and takes a bio-cultural approach in understanding human reproduction, nutrition and food security. All my research to date has been conducted in Latin America, with a particular focus on rural Amazonian populations. My research on the energetics of reproduction among rural Amazonian women sought to understand how women in this environment accommodate the additional energy demands of lactation and the role social support plays in off-setting maternal costs. My research on nutrition has been conducted among rural Amazonian communities in northern Brazil and Quilombo populations in southern Brazil. This work has focused on understanding the early stages of the nutrition transition with an emphasis on the relationship between changes in economic strategies, work loads, dietary changes and overall nutritional status in these subsistence-based groups. I recently started a new project on food security and maternal-child health in Leon, Nicaragua which aims at understanding the household-level predictors of food insecurity in urban and rural households, the strategies women use to cope with low access to food and the implications their strategies have for their own and their children's health.

Dr. Piperata's Seed Grants:

• (2016) Predictors of Allostatic Load in Mothers and Children: Biological Evidence from a High-Stress Setting
• (2008) Does wealth translate in health: Evaluating the Bolsa Familia Program in rural Amazon