Abby McClain

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