A glimpse into the Program in Human Biology at Stanford University

Save the Date for "Behind the Book: 
Historian Jessica Riskin on The Power of Life"

on April 22, 5:30 - 7:30PM PT

The French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented figures in the history of science. Working in Paris in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, he proposed the first evolutionary theory of life and with it a new science: biology. But his bold reimagining of nature was as radical as it was heretical, earning him formidable enemies and consigning him to the margins of science for the past two centuries. In The Power of Life, Riskin tells the story of Lamarck’s life and work as an intense struggle between rival forces to answer questions that remain foundational to our modern worldview: What is a living being, and what is science?

Jessica Riskin will be in conversation with Tom Hayden, Director of Stanford's Graduate Environmental Communication Program. They will discuss everything from how to wrangle controversial scientific ideas into a compelling story to the journey of writing a book for a popular audience. Learn more about the event and RSVP to attend in person or online.



Jeff Wine: A Life-Changing Shift 
from Neuroscience to Cystic 
Fibrosis Research

Jeff Wine, former Human Biology Director, first began his career as a neuroscientist, studying how neural circuits produce behavior. In 1981, when his infant daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, Wine shifted his entire research program to focus on the disease. Over the following decades, his work advanced the world's understanding of the condition and contributed to new treatment approaches. His work was recognized this past fall when he was awarded the Dorothy Andersen and Paul di Sant’Agnese Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Wine is the Benjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology, Emeritus, and an Emeritus professor of psychology, and by courtesy, pediatrics. He served as HumBio’s Program Director from 2003 to 2006.

Photo credit: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Robert Sapolsky's Lectures on 
Human Behavioral Biology

Human behavior, both typical and atypical, can be better understood by examining the biological systems that shape it. In HumBio 160, Human Behavioral Biology, students explored how disciplines such as sociobiology, ethology, neuroscience, and endocrinology intersect to explain behaviors including violence and aggression, language, sexuality, and mental illness. Now viewers can explore these topics too through a special recording of Sapolsky’s last lectures.

Sapolsky is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gun Professor of Biology and a professor of neurology and neurological sciences, and of neurosurgery. In addition to his extremely popular course, HumBio 160, Sapolsky teaches upper-division biology courses on the neurobiological bases of psychiatric disorders and the mechanisms of neuron death in neurological disease.

Photo credit: L.A. Cicero, Stanford Report

In Memoriam: Paul R. Ehrlich (1932-2026)

It is with sadness that the Program in Human Biology shares the news that Paul R. Ehrlich, a founder of HumBio and Emeritus Bing Professor of Population Studies, died on Friday, March 13, 2026, at the age of 93.

Ehrlich was a widely known evolutionary ecologist and population biologist whose research, writing, and public engagement helped shape modern environmental thinking for more than half a century. He also developed the concept of coevolution with Peter H. Raven, describing how interacting species can evolve through reciprocal adaptations over time. Read more.

COVID-19: A Retrospective Conversation with

Sara Cody '85 and Stephen Macedo

Six years ago, the United States declared a national emergency in response to COVID-19, a turning point that reshaped public health and daily life across the globe. Schools, offices, athletic leagues, and public events ground to a halt as communities scrambled to confront the virus. During a recent session of Stanford’s Democracy and Disagreement class, HumBio alumna and former Santa Clara County Director of Public Health and Health Officer, Sara Cody ‘85 returned to campus, joined by Stephen Macedo, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics, for a conversation reflecting on the pivotal decisions made during the pandemic and what we can learn from the experience six years later. Read more.

Ruth O'Hara: Revolutionizing

Precision Approaches to Cognitive 
and Mental Health

In this series of micro-talks followed by a panel discussion, O’Hara and her colleagues explore the integration of cognitive models and neurocircuits to predict treatment outcomes, particularly in late-life mental health conditions. O’Hara emphasizes the importance of analyzing cognitive information processing to gain insights into mental health and highlights the potential role of AI in developing individualized treatment plans and care for patients.

Dr. Ruth O’Hara is the Lowell W. and Josephine Q. Berry Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Senior Associate Dean for Research at Stanford Medicine. O’Hara teaches HumBio 164, Autism Spectrum Disorder with Professors Joachim Hallmayer and Sophia Colamarino.

Rachele Pojednic: On Longevity, Recovery, and Building a Strong Life

Buzzwords like longevity, metabolic health, cold plunging, and recovery are everywhere, but what does the science actually say, and how do we make it meaningful in our everyday lives? In this conversation, Pojednic unpacks the evidence behind some of these popular trends and discusses how principles from exercise physiology, nutrition, and lifestyle science can best be applied to support long-term health and resilience

Dr. Rachele Pojednic is an adjunct lecturer in the HumBio program and the Director of Education at Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. Her research focuses on nutrition, supplementation, and physical activity interventions on muscle physiology, performance, and recovery. In HumBio, she teaches the upper-division course, HumBio 132, Sports Nutrition. 

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