Shining Evolutionary Light on Global Health Challenges:
P A G E 1 6
V O L . 4 , N O . 2
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5
A simple equation:
289 samples + 20 humans + 11 Duke researchers + 10 cattle + 7 plane rides + 6 Malagasy support staff + 2 months + 1
village = my summer in Madagascar.
I am a masters student at the Duke Global Health Institute. With a background in ecology and evolutionary
biology, I am accustomed to compartmentalizing my experiences and processing them in a logical manner. Similar to
the way clear-cut taxonomies and phylogenies dominate
these academic fields, I’m inclined to summarize my
fieldwork experience by grouping variables and building
simple equations. However, this method fails to capture the
details-- the people, ideas, challenges, and solutions -- of a
summer driven by cooperation and adaptation.
Through Duke’s Bass Connections program, I joined my
advisor, Dr. Charlie Nunn, and a team of Duke researchers in
Mandena, Madagascar. Mandena is adjacent to Marojejy
National Park, where many SAVA Conservation activities
take place. Here, we ran a series of pilot projects that used
an evolutionary framework to investigate health burdens in
the area. Our research questions were based in evolutionary
mismatch, the idea that today’s environment is drastically
different than the one in which we evolved, resulting in
health problems worldwide. This framework is relevant to
Madagascar, a country with recently increased exposure to
aspects of Western culture. This includes diet and for some, reduced activity levels, which can lead to an increase in
the burden of non-infectious diseases.
The team included Dr. Daniel Schmitt, postdoctoral researcher Dr. David Samson, medical students Ashley Sobel
and Temini Ajayi, and undergraduate students James Yu, Rachel Clark, Taylor Trentadue, and Anna Willoughby. Each
student had ownership over specific aspects and was
responsible for planning and executing the projects
on the ground. We were supported by local Malagasy
assistants, as well as the Duke Lemur Center’s SAVA
Conservation project.
My research including collecting skin swabs from
humans and zebu (the local cattle) in Mandena.
Ongoing analysis of these samples back in North
Carolina will allow me to characterize the microbes
living on human and zebu skin and investigate
microbial sharing, with potential implications for
susceptibility to mosquitoes and associated diseases. I
was also able to assist with other projects, which
included characterizing sleep patterns in a non-
electric population, investigating respiratory health
and air quality associated with traditional cooking
practices, assessing dental and cardiovascular health,
Melissa and Taylor measuring blood pressure.
by Melissa Manus
Melissa taking a skin swab of a zebu.
Assessing Human Health in Rural Madagascar
