Department of Anthropology
Director, Health and BioBehavior Lab
Email:University Museum 507
Bio
Mallika S. Sarma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Director of the Health and BioBehavior Lab (HaBBLab) at the University of Pennsylvania. As a human biologist, her work centers on human biobehavioral changes related to stress and resilience in novel, energy-intensive, and extreme environments. Her research has examined the intersection of neuroendocrine systems, energetic physiology, environmental signals, neurovestibular adaptation, and social dynamics in extreme settings including the Himalayas, Central Congo Basin, American Rocky Mountains, and the spaceflight environment. Her recent work is exploring the protective effects of social support in harsh and unpredictable contexts.
Education
Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 2020
M.A., Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 2018
B.S., Evolutionary Anthropology & Psychology, University of Michigan, 2014
CV (file)
Research Interests
Human biology, biological anthropology, biocultural anthropology, evolutionary anthropology, stress & resilience, neuroendocrine function, adaptation and acclimatization to extreme environments, human biology and behavior in space, space medicine
Selected Publications
Sarma, MS, Shelhamer, MJ. 2024. The human biology of spaceflight. American Journal of Human Biology.
Sarma, MS+, Niclou A+. 2023. The now and future of human biology at the extremes. American Journal of Human Biology.
Sarma, MS+, Niclou A+, Levy, S+, Ocobock, CJ+. 2023. To the extreme! How anthropology can inform exercise physiology in extreme environments. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology – Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology.
Sarma, MS, Gildner, T, Howells, M, Lew-Levy, S, Trumble, BC, Fuentes, A. 2021. There and back again: The Biosocial Dynamics of Returning from the Field. American Journal of Human Biology.
Sarma, MS, Ocobock, CJ, Martin, S, Rochelle, S, Croom, BP, Gettler, LT. 2021. Sex differences and shifts in body composition, physical activity, and total energy expenditure across a 3-month expedition. American Journal of Human Biology.
Sarma, MS, Boyette, AH, Lew-Levy, S, Miegakanda, V, Samson, D, Kilius, E, Gettler, LT. 2020. Sex differences in daily activity intensity and energy expenditure and their relationship to cortisol among BaYaka foragers from the Congo Basin. American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Sarma, MS, Gettler, LT, Childs, G, Quinn, EA. 2018. When women work: Endocrine reactivity in women during everyday physical activity at high altitude. American Journal of Human Biology.
Sarma, MS, Kuo, PX, Bechayda, SA, Kuzawa, CW, Gettler, LT. 2018. Exploring the links between early life and young adulthood social experiences and men’s later life paternal psychobiology. Physiology and Behavior.