Doctoral Dissertation Research: Zoonotic Risks at the Human-Primate Interface: Behavior, Nutritional Status, and Immune Function

本论文项目将研究人类行为、性别、生存模式、营养和免疫功能的差异如何影响人畜共患疾病从猴子、大猩猩和黑猩猩等非人类灵长类动物向人类群体的传播和发展。该项目的人类学和灵长类学背景和专业知识为了解依赖森林资源但在文化和营养获取方面各不相同的人类群体之间的复杂关系提供了独特的机会。此外，提高对促进人类新型人畜共患感染的文化、行为和生物过程的理解，有助于为流行病的科学进步和公共卫生研究提供信息。该项目将支持女性研究生和STEM研究领域代表性不足群体的培训，并将促进国际研究、科学推广和公共卫生合作。该项目在中非共和国西南角的一个森林保护区开展，为期15个月，那里的人类社区依赖野生肉类和森林蔬菜作为蛋白质和营养的主要来源，野生动物和其他森林资源的减少威胁到粮食安全和公共卫生成果。该研究的重点是社区和文化群体的独特组合，以了解可能影响人畜共患病出现的多种因素——人类与非人类灵长类动物的接触、不同的营养途径、粮食安全的增加和人口密度的增加。研究人员将使用行为和饮食调查、营养状况测量、血红蛋白水平分析和免疫功能分析来了解人畜共患病的风险。人畜共患病威胁着全球健康和安全，并与艾滋病毒流行、西非和中非的埃博拉疫情以及南美洲的寨卡病毒疫情有关。通过深入了解单一人群中人畜共患病风险的变化，该项目可以帮助制定更有效的全球卫生政策，以预防和控制新的流行病。

This dissertation project will investigate how differences in human behavior, gender, subsistence patterns, nutrition, and immune function influence the transmission and progression of zoonotic illnesses from nonhuman primates, such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees, to human groups. The project's anthropological and primatological context and expertise provide a unique opportunity to understand these complex relationships among human groups who rely on forest resources but vary in terms of culture and nutritional access. In addition, improved understanding of the cultural, behavioral, and biological processes that promote novel zoonotic infections in humans helps inform scientific advancements and public health research on epidemics. The project will support training for a female graduate student and underrepresented groups in STEM research fields, and will foster international research, science outreach, and public health collaborations. This project takes place over a 15-month period in a protected forest reserve in the southwest corner of Central African Republic where human communities rely on wild meat and forest vegetables as primary sources of protein and nutrition, and where the diminishing availability of wildlife and other forest resources threaten food security and public health outcomes. The study focuses on a unique mix of communities and cultural groups to understand multiple factors that may influence zoonotic emergence -- human contact with nonhuman primates, varied nutritional access, increased food security, and increased population density. Researchers will use behavioral and dietary surveys, measurements of nutritional status, analysis of hemoglobin levels, and analysis of immune function to understand zoonotic risk. Zoonoses threaten global health and security and are linked to the HIV epidemic, Ebola outbreaks in West and Central Africa, and Zika outbreaks in South America. By providing insight on variation in zoonotic risk across a single population, this project can help develop more effective global health policies for preventing and controlling new epidemics.