It's nice to meet you.
I am a biocultural medical anthropologist whose work bridges cultural theory, biological science, and public health to understand how culture, inequality, and embodiment shape human health. My research focuses on reproductive health, Indigenous data sovereignty, and embodied practices such as traditional tattooing (tatau) in the Pacific, with ongoing projects in Sāmoa and the United States.
I hold an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Colorado Denver, where I specialized in biomedical anthropology, and a Certificate in Maternal and Child Health from the Colorado School of Public Health. I am currently completing my Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Montana (expected May 2026). My dissertation, Tatau and Female Health in Sāmoa: Applied Medical Anthropology Approaches to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Cultural Identity, examines how traditional tattooing intersects with women’s reproductive health, fertility, and social identity.
My academic background spans biological and cultural anthropology, complemented by formal training in public health and Indigenous data governance. I also hold an Indigenous Data Sovereignty Certification from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and continue advanced study of the Sāmoan language through the University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu. Across my research and teaching, I strive to build bridges between science, culture, and lived experience—advancing applied, community-engaged anthropology that promotes equity in women’s and reproductive health globally.
Research
My current research examines how culture, biology, and inequality intersect to shape women’s health and embodiment. In Sāmoa, my dissertation project — Tatau and Female Health in Sāmoa — explores how traditional tattooing (tatau) influences reproductive health, fertility, and identity. Working with the Centre for Sāmoan Studies, this project combines ethnographic and physiological data to understand how cultural practices can become embodied biology through healing, pain, and resilience.
In the United States, I collaborate on projects with CU Denver and CU Anschutz Medical Campus examining how anthropological theory informs medical education and how PCOS stigma affects adolescents and their families. These collaborations connect anthropology, healthcare, and education while creating training opportunities for students and emerging scholars.
Across all my work, I aim to advance applied, community-based anthropology that centers equity, collaboration, and cultural resilience.
I am currently developing projects in Independent Sāmoa and American Sāmoa. Stay tuned!
Culture, Theory, and Tatau
My research on tatau (traditional Sāmoan tattooing) explores how cultural practice becomes embodied—physiologically, socially, and symbolically. I draw on cultural and feminist theory to examine how the female tattoo, or malu, functions as both an expression of identity and a form of resistance.
Through ethnographic fieldwork and biomarker analysis, I investigate how pain, healing, and scar formation reflect the intersection of biology and culture. These embodied experiences challenge Western models of health by demonstrating how meaning, resilience, and spirituality shape physiological processes. The malu, as both a mark and a metaphor, reveals how cultural heritage becomes inscribed on—and within—the body.
This work contributes to broader anthropological debates on embodiment, gender, and biocultural resilience. It also emphasizes how Indigenous knowledge systems, when understood on their own terms, expand our understanding of health and healing beyond biomedical frameworks.