Abby McClain

- Title:
- she/her/hers
- Office:
- SEH 6th Floor 6944
- Email:
- [email protected]
Areas of Expertise
Abby is broadly interested in the evolution of sociality and disease transmission. Her current projects investigate how the gut biome and immune factors covary in primates following an interruption to their status quo social interactions by following the journey of a female chimpanzee as she matures, emigrates from her natal group and enters a new community. When an immigrant interacts with new social partners she carries a suite of potentially unique and transmissible factors including microbial species, parasites, and possibly novel behavior. Abby's additional research interests include behavioral ecology and female space use.
Background
Program: Human Paleobiology PhD
Year of Entry: Fall 2021
Advisor: Carson Murray
Current Research
GWU Primate Behavioral Ecology Laboratory (2021-Present)
IU Primate Environmental Endocrinology Laboratory (2017-2021)
Education
Indiana University, Biology B.S., Spanish Linguistics B.A.
Distinctions
2021: NSF Graduate Research Fellow