Evolutionary Insights into the Mysteries of the Female Body

Talk Description:

Since Deena was a kid, she’s been fascinated by evolutionary science and loves to share her curiosity with others. She’s spent most of her career studying the evolution of the female body. In this talk, she’ll share some amazing vignettes about the evolution of female animals, such as ducks, dolphins, and of course humans. Through these stories, she hopes to show how evolutionary insights can help us better understand the idiosyncrasies of our own bodies and lead to improvements in

women’s health.

Bio

Deena Emera, PhD, is an evolutionary biologist, author, and teacher. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley, a master’s degree in Physical Anthropology from NYU, and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale. She currently serves as a senior scientist at the Buck Institute’s Center for Healthy Aging in Women, where she is investigating the genetic basis of reproductive longevity in female mammals. She is also committed to science communication, writing articles featured in news outlets such as the SF Chronicle and Boston Globe, and recently publishing a book. In A Brief History of the Female Body (Sourcebooks, 2023), Deena draws on her expertise as a biologist and experience as a mother of four to explore the mysteries of the female body through an evolutionary lens.