Marcela Pfaff Nash

Marcela is a biological anthropologist who uses biocultural and evolutionary perspectives to study variation in childhood intestinal function. She examines how evolution and socioecological conditions shape intestinal physiology and its consequences for growth, development, and long-term metabolic health. Her current work expands this research to maternal health and early-life environments. She works with Amazonian Shuar children and urban-living children in Chile, her home country. Marcela received her Ph.D. from Baylor University in August 2026.