Brooke Scelza

Brooke Scelza is a Professor and Vice Chair of Graduate Studies in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2008. Her research integrates evolutionary anthropology, human behavioral ecology, and genetics to investigate social learning, health decision-making, and family dynamics, particularly among Himba pastoralists in Namibia. Her recent work examines medical mistrust, vaccination decisions, and the cultural evolution of health interventions in rural African communities. Scelza has received major NSF-SSRC funding for her research on sociodemographic influences on vaccine decision-making and maintains extensive international collaborations across the US, Europe, Africa, and Asia.