Pre-prints
MM Watowich, R Petersen, L Brassington, A Arner, G Rodenberg, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, KL Tam, E Schellenberg, I bin Mohd Sayed, E John, J Kahumbu, B Muhoya, M Gurven, BC Trumble, SN Njeru, D Martins, JF Ayroles, YAL Lim, VV Venkataraman, I Wallace, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. Divergent Biological Consequences of APOE Isoforms Across Industrialized and Non-Industrial Environments. bioRxiv [link].
AJ Arner, TC McCabe, A Seyler, SN Zamri, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, KL Tam, P Kinyua, E John, SN Njeru, YAL Lim, M Gurven, C Nicholas, J Ayroles, VV Venkataraman, TS Kraft, IJ Wallace, AJ Lea. Development and assessment of tailored illustrations to enhance community understandings of genetics topics. bioRxiv [link].
I Gallego Romero, G Rodenberg, AM Arner, Lani Li, IJA Beasley, R Rossow, N Ryan, S Wang, AJ Lea. Public RNA-seq data are not representative of global human diversity. bioRxiv [link].
AM Arner, B Muhoya, M Sanchez Rozado, M Gurven, J Kahumbu, J Kamau, P Kinyua, F Lotukoi, DJ Martins, C Miano, MJ Montague, SN Njeru, J Peng, P Straub, MM Watowich, LK Davis, N Snyder-Mackler, JF Ayroles, AJ Lea. Exposure to urban environments alters sex differences in immune physiology. bioRxiv [link].
MW Watowich, AM Arner, S Wang, E John, JC Kahumbu, P Kinyua, A Lopurudoi, F Lotukoi, CM Mwai, B Muhoya, B Mukoma, KL Tam, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, M Gurven, YAL Lim, D Martins, S Njeru, KS Ng, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, JF Ayroles, TS Kraft*, AJ Lea*. The built environment is more predictive of cardiometabolic health than other aspects of lifestyle in two rapidly transitioning Indigenous populations. medRxiv [link].
MM Watowich, L Brassington, A Longtin, S Wang, R Rossow, K Reinhardt, E John, JC Kahumbu, P Kinyua, A Lopurudoi, F Lotukoi, C Miano, B Muhoya, B Mukoma, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, K Tam, YAL Lim, D Martins, S Njeru, K Ng, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, JF Ayroles, M Gurven, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. Urbanization exacerbates age-associated declines in cardiometabolic health in the Turkana and Orang Asli. medRxiv [link].
TS Kraft, IJ Wallace, YAL Lim, KL Tam, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, R Tennyson, SKW Chow, KS bin Fadzil, C Nicholas, I bin Mohd Sayed, VV Venkataraman, AJ Lea. Physical activity and cardiometabolic health across an extreme lifestyle gradient. medRxiv [link].
KD Reinhardt, TS Kraft, AJ Lea, IJ Wallace, YAL Lim, C Nicholas, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, KL Tam, SKW Chow, I Sayed, KS Fadzil, MC Antle, VV Venkataraman. Recent lifestyle change impacts sleep and circadian rhythms among the Indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. bioRxiv [link].
AJ Arner, TC McCabe, A Seyler, SN Zamri, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, KL Tam, P Kinyua, E John, SN Njeru, YAL Lim, M Gurven, C Nicholas, J Ayroles, VV Venkataraman, TS Kraft, IJ Wallace, AJ Lea. Development and assessment of tailored illustrations to enhance community understandings of genetics topics. bioRxiv [link].
I Gallego Romero, G Rodenberg, AM Arner, Lani Li, IJA Beasley, R Rossow, N Ryan, S Wang, AJ Lea. Public RNA-seq data are not representative of global human diversity. bioRxiv [link].
AM Arner, B Muhoya, M Sanchez Rozado, M Gurven, J Kahumbu, J Kamau, P Kinyua, F Lotukoi, DJ Martins, C Miano, MJ Montague, SN Njeru, J Peng, P Straub, MM Watowich, LK Davis, N Snyder-Mackler, JF Ayroles, AJ Lea. Exposure to urban environments alters sex differences in immune physiology. bioRxiv [link].
MW Watowich, AM Arner, S Wang, E John, JC Kahumbu, P Kinyua, A Lopurudoi, F Lotukoi, CM Mwai, B Muhoya, B Mukoma, KL Tam, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, M Gurven, YAL Lim, D Martins, S Njeru, KS Ng, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, JF Ayroles, TS Kraft*, AJ Lea*. The built environment is more predictive of cardiometabolic health than other aspects of lifestyle in two rapidly transitioning Indigenous populations. medRxiv [link].
MM Watowich, L Brassington, A Longtin, S Wang, R Rossow, K Reinhardt, E John, JC Kahumbu, P Kinyua, A Lopurudoi, F Lotukoi, C Miano, B Muhoya, B Mukoma, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, K Tam, YAL Lim, D Martins, S Njeru, K Ng, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, JF Ayroles, M Gurven, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. Urbanization exacerbates age-associated declines in cardiometabolic health in the Turkana and Orang Asli. medRxiv [link].
TS Kraft, IJ Wallace, YAL Lim, KL Tam, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, R Tennyson, SKW Chow, KS bin Fadzil, C Nicholas, I bin Mohd Sayed, VV Venkataraman, AJ Lea. Physical activity and cardiometabolic health across an extreme lifestyle gradient. medRxiv [link].
KD Reinhardt, TS Kraft, AJ Lea, IJ Wallace, YAL Lim, C Nicholas, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, KL Tam, SKW Chow, I Sayed, KS Fadzil, MC Antle, VV Venkataraman. Recent lifestyle change impacts sleep and circadian rhythms among the Indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. bioRxiv [link].
Publications
2026
B Sadoughi*, RM Petersen*, SK Patterson, E Slikas, C Adjandba, N Ryan, CE Costa, LE Newman, MM Watowich, CR Kelsey, A Greenier, EA Goldman, JEN Del Valle, D Phillips, I Thompson, SE Bauman Surratt, O Gonzalez, NR Compo, AG Burgos-Rodriguez, Cayo Biobank Research Unit, AR DeCasien, KL Chiou, CS Walker, AV Ruiz Lambides, MI Martinez, KN Sterner, LJN Brent, JP Higham, MJ Montague, ML Platt, N Snyder-Mackler*, AJ Lea*. Age and early life adversity shape heterogeneity of the epigenome across tissues in macaques. Science, accepted.
RM Petersen*, SK Patterson*, A Widdig, CM Turcotte, SC Antón, SA Williams, AN Romero, SE Bauman Surratt, AV Ruiz Lambides, Cayo Biobank Research Unit, N Snyder-Mackler, LJN Brent, JP Higham, AJ Lea. Early life adversity shapes life history trade-offs between growth and reproduction in free-ranging rhesus macaques. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, accepted.
RM Petersen, R Tennyson, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, KL Tam, MM Watowich, K Fadzil, C Nicholas, I Sayed, K Ng, YAL Lim, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. Early life environments shape adult cardiometabolic health during rapid lifestyle change. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, accepted.
IJ Wallace, DT Felson, VB Kraus, T Neogi, IK Haugen, JL Huebner, CMT Sena, TL Kivell, NB Holowka, S Worthington, YAL Lim, VV Venkataraman, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. 2026. Dampened inflammation and reduced risk of osteoarthritis among non-industrialized societies. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 34:18-27 [link].
2025
AJ Lea, IV Caldas, KM Garske, J Echwa, M Gurven, C Handley, J Kahumbu, J Kamau, P Kinyua, F Lotukoi, A Lopurudoi, S Lowasa, R Mallarino, D Martins, PW Messer, C Miano, B Muhoya, J Peng, T Phung, JD Rabinowitz, A Roichman, R Siford, A Stone, AM Taravella-Oill, S Mathew, MA Wilson, JF Ayroles. 2025. Adaptations to water stress and pastoralism in the Turkana of northwest Kenya. Science, 389: 1246-1251 [link].
S Rosenbaum, A Malani, AJ Lea, J Tung, SC Alberts, EA Archie. 2025. Testing early life effects frameworks: developmental constraints and adaptive response hypotheses do not explain fertility outcomes in female baboons. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, 292: 20242485 [link].
G Housman, AM Arner, A Longtin, C Gagnon, A Durvasula, AJ Lea. 2025. Addressing missing context in regulatory variation across primate evolution. Current Opinions in Genetics and Development, 93: 102374 [link].
RM Petersen, CM Vockley, AJ Lea. 2025. Uncovering methylation-dependent genetic effects on regulatory element function in diverse genomes. Genome Research, doi.org/10.1101/gr.279957.124 [link].
M Franck, K Tanner, R Tennyson, C Daunizeau, L Ferrucci, S Bandinelli, BC Trumble, HS Kaplan, JE Aronoff, TS Kraft, AJ Lea, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, YAL Lim, K Seong Ng, J Poe Sheng Yeong, R Chun Man Ho, A Mehrjerd, E Charalambous, AE Aiello, G Pawelec, J Hertel, T Fülöp, M Lemoine, M Gurven, AA Cohen. 2025. Nonuniversality of inflammaging across human populations. Nature Aging, doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-00888-0 [link].
A Longtin, M Watowich, B Sadoughi, RM Petersen, SF Brosnan, K Buetow, W Cai, MD Gurven, HM Highland, YT Huang, H Kaplan, TS Kraft, YAL Lim, J Long, AD Melin, J Roberson, KS Ng, J Stieglitz, BC Trumble, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, J Wu, N Snyder-Mackler, A Jones, AG Bick, AJ Lea. 2025. Cost-effective solutions for high-throughput enzymatic DNA methylation sequencing. PLoS Genetics, 21:e1011667 [link].
2024
C Costa, MM Watowich, E Goldman, K Sterner, J Negron-Del Valle, D Phillips, M Platt, M Montague, L Brent, J Higham, N Snyder-Mackler*, AJ Lea*. 2024. Genetic architecture of immune cell DNA methylation in the rhesus macaque. Molecular Ecology, doi: 10.1111/mec.17576 [link].
SK Patterson, E Andonov, AM Arre, MI Martínez, JE Negron-Del Valle, RM Petersen, D Phillips, A Rahman, A Ruiz-Lambides, I Villanueva, AJ Lea, N Snyder-Mackler, LJN Brent, JP Higham. 2024. Early life adversity has sex-dependent effects on survival across the lifespan in rhesus macaques. Philosophical Transactions B, 379:20220456 [link].
M Gurven, A Sarieddine, AJ Lea. 2024. Health disparities among Indigenous peoples: exploring the roles of evolutionary and developmental mismatch on cardiometabolic health. Annual Review of Anthropology, 53:55-73 [link].
AW Reynolds, AJ Lea, MA Nieves-Colón. 2024. Genomics research in lower- and middle-income countries: ethics, common challenges, and emerging solutions. In: M Moller, G Patrinos, C Uren, eds. Population Genomics in the Developing World. Elsevier Academic Press.
L Brassington*, A Arner*, M Watowich, J Damstedt, N Kee Seong, YAL Lim, VV Venkataraman, I Wallace, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. 2024. Integrating the Thrifty Genotype and Evolutionary Mismatch Hypotheses to understand variation in cardiometabolic disease risk. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, eoae014 [link].
M Watowich, C Costa, K Chiou, E Goldman, R Petersen, S Patterson, M Martinez, K Sterner, J Horvath, M Montague, M Platt, L Brent, J Higham, AJ Lea*, N Snyder-Mackler*. 2024. Immune gene regulation is associated with age and environmental adversity in a nonhuman primate. Molecular Ecology, doi.10.1111/mec.17445 [link].
RM Petersen, AJ Lea. 2024. Preview: Diet composition impacts eQTL discovery across multiple tissues in baboons. Cell Genomics, 4:100524 [link].
RA Johnston, KA Aracena, LB Barreiro, AJ Lea, J Tung. 2024. DNA methylation-environment interactions in the human genome. eLife, doi.org/10.7554/eLife.89371.2 [link].
JA Anderson, D Lin, AJ Lea, RA Johnston, T Voyles, MY Akinyi, E Archie, SC Alberts, J Tung. 2024. DNA methylation signatures of early life adversity are exposure-dependent in wild baboons. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121:e2309469121 [link].
KP Pettie, M Mumbach, AJ Lea, JF Ayroles, HY Chang, M Kasowski, HB Fraser. 2024. Chromatin activity identifies differential gene regulation across human ancestries. Genome Biology, 25:21 [link].
2023
AJ Lea, AG Clark, AW Dahl, O Devinsky, AR Garcia, CD Golden, J Kamau, TS Kraft, YAL Lim, D Martins, D Mogoi, P Pajukanta, G Perry, H Pontzer, BC Trumble, SS Urlacher, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, M Gurven, D Lieberman, JF Ayroles. 2023. Applying an evolutionary mismatch framework to understand disease susceptibility. PLoS Biology, 21: e3002311 [link].
MM Watowich, KL Chiou, B Graves, MJ Montague, LJN Brent, JP Higham, JE Horvath, Amy Lu, MI Martinez, ML Platt, IA Schneider-Crease, AJ Lea, N Snyder-Mackler. 2023. Best practices for genotype imputation from low-coverage sequencing data in natural populations. Molecular Ecology Resources, online early [link].
SK Patterson, RM Petersen, LJN Brent, N Snyder-Mackler, AJ Lea, JP Higham. 2023. Natural animal populations as models for understanding early life adversity effects on aging. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 63:681-692 [link].
S Peterson, M Watowich, L Renner, S Martin, E Offenberg, AJ Lea, M Montague, J Higham, N Snyder-Mackler, M Neuringer, B Ferguson. 2023. Genetic variants in melanogenesis proteins TYRP1 and TYR are associated with the golden rhesus macaque phenotype. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, online early [link].
S Wolf, D Melo, KM Garske, LF Pallares, AJ Lea, JF Ayroles. 2023. Characterizing the landscape of gene expression variance in humans. PLoS Genetics, 19:e1010833 [link].
BC Trumble, M Charifson, T Kraft, AR Garcia, DK Cummings, P Hooper, AJ Lea, D Eid Rodriguez, SV Koebele, K Buetow, B Beheim, R Minocher, M Gutierrez, GS Thomas, M Gatz, J Stieglitz, CE Finch, H Kaplan, M Gurven. 2023. Apolipoprotein E4 is associated with higher fecundity in a natural fertility population. Science Advances, 9:eade9797 [link].
I Gallego Romero*, AJ Lea*. 2023. Leveraging massively parallel reporter assays for evolutionary questions. Genome Biology, 24:26 [link].
AJ Lea, A Garcia, J Arevalo, JF Ayroles, K Buetow, SW Cole, D Eid Rodriguez, M Gutierrez, HM Highland, A Justice, T Kraft, KE North, J Stieglitz, H Kaplan, BC Trumble, MD Gurven. 2023. Natural selection of immune and metabolic genes associated with health in South American Amerindians. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120:e2207544120 [link].
2022
LP Pallares*, AJ Lea*, C Han, EV Filippova, P Andolfatto, JF Ayroles. 2022. Dietary stress remodels the genetic architecture of lifespan variation in outbred Drosophila. Nature Genetics, 55:123-129 [link]
AJ Lea, J Peng, JF Ayroles. 2022. Diverse environmental perturbations reveal the evolution and context-dependency of genetic effects on gene expression levels. Genome Research, 32:1-14 [link].
IJ Wallace, AJ Lea, YAL Lim, SKW Chow, I bin Mohd Sayed, R Ngui, MTH Shaffee, KS Ng, C Nicholas, VV Venkataraman, TS Kraft. 2022. Orang Asli Health and Lifeways Project (OA HeLP): Study Protocol. BMJ Open, 12:e058660 [link].
J Anderson, AJ Lea, T Voyles, M Akinyi, R Nyakundi, L Ochola, M Omondi, F Nyundo, Y Zhang, FA Campos, SC Alberts, EA Archie, J Tung. 2022. Distinct gene regulatory signatures of dominance rank and social bond strength in wild baboons. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 377: 20200441 [link].
2018-2021
AJ Lea, C Waigwa, B Muhoya, F Lotukoi, J Peng, LP Henry, V Abhyankar, J Kamau, D Martins, M Gurven, JF Ayroles. 2021. Social gradients in health vary between rural and urban Turkana. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 9:406-419 [link].
CSC Johnson, CA Shively, KT Michalson, AJ Lea, RJ DeBo, TD Howard, GA Hawkins, SE Appt, Y Liu, CE McCall, D Herrington, TC Register*, N Snyder-Mackler*. 2021. Divergent effects of Western and Mediterranean diets on behavior and monocyte polarization. eLife, 10:e68293 [link].
JA Anderson*, RA Johnston*, AJ Lea, FA Campos, TN Voyles, MY Akinyi, SC Alberts, EA Archie, J Tung. 2021. High social status males experience accelerated epigenetic aging in wild baboons. eLife, 10:e66128 [link].
AJ Lea, D Martins, J Kamau, M Gurven, JF Ayroles. 2020. Urbanization and market-integration have strong, non-linear effects on cardiometabolic health in the Turkana. Science Advances, 6:eabb1430 [link].
AJ Lea*, S Rosebaum*. Understanding how early life effects evolve: progress, gaps, and future directions. 2020. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 36:29-35 [link].
AJ Lea*, M Subramaniam*, A Ko, T Lehtimäki, E Raitoharju, M Kähönen, I Seppälä, N Mononen, OT Raitakari, M Ala-Korpela, P Pajukanta, NA Zaitlen, JF Ayroles. 2019. Genetic and environmental perturbations lead to regulatory decoherence. eLife, 8:e40538 [link].
AJ Lea, CM Vockley, RA Johnston, CA Del Carpio, LB Barreiro, TE Reddy, J Tung. 2018. Genome-wide quantification of the effects of DNA methylation on human gene regulation. eLife, 7:e37513 [link].
AJ Lea, MY Akinyi, R Nyakundi, P Mareri, F Nyundo, T Kariuki, SC Alberts, EA Archie, J Tung. 2018. Dominance rank-associated immune gene expression is widespread, sex-specific, and a precursor to high social status in wild male baboons. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115:E12163-E12171 [link].
N Snyder-Mackler*, AJ Lea*. 2018. Functional genomic insights into the environmental determinants of mammalian fitness. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 53:105-112 [link].
AJ Lea, J Tung, EA Archie, SC Alberts. 2018. Developmental plasticity: bridging research in evolution and human health. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 1:162-175 [link].
*See also: AJ Lea, J Tung, EA Archie, SC Alberts. 2018. Developmental plasticity research in evolution and human health: response to commentaries. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 1:201-205 [link].
LEK Serieys, AJ Lea, M Epeldegui, TC Armenta, J Moriarty, S VandeWoude, S Carver, J Foley, RK Wayne, SPD Riley, CH Uittenbogaart. 2018. Urbanization and anticoagulant poisons promote immune dysfunction in bobcats. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B, 285:20172533 [link].
2012-2017
AJ Lea, PAP Durst, TP Vilgalys, J Tung. 2017. Maximizing ecological and evolutionary insight from bisulfite sequencing data sets. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1:1074-1083 [link].
P Charruau, R Johnston, DR Stahler, AJ Lea, N Snyder-Mackler, DW Smith, B vonHoldt, SW Cole, J Tung, RK Wayne. 2016. Pervasive effects of aging on gene expression in wild wolves. Molecular Biology and Evolution 33:1967-1978 [link].
AJ Lea, J Altmann, SC Alberts, J Tung. 2016. Resource base influences genome-wide DNA methylation levels in wild baboons. Molecular Ecology 25:1681-1696 [link].
AJ Lea, J Tung, X Zhou. 2015. A flexible, efficient binomial mixed model for identifying differential DNA methylation in bisulfite sequencing data. PLoS Genetics 11:e1005650 [link].
KP Koepfli, J Pollinger, R Godinho, J Robinson, AJ Lea, S Hendricks, RM Schweizer, O Thalmann, P Silva, Z Fan, AA Yurchenko, P Dobrynin, A Makunin, JA Cahill, B Shapiro, F Alvares, JC Brito, E Geffen, JA Leonard, KM Helgen, WE Johnson, SJ O'Brien, B Van Valkenburgh, RK Wayne. 2015. Genome-wide evidence reveals that African golden jackals are a distinct species. Current Biology 25:2158–2165 [link].
AJ Lea, J Altmann, SC Alberts, J Tung. 2015. Developmental constraints in a wild primate. The American Naturalist 185: 809-821 [link].
LEK Serieys, AJ Lea, J Pollinger, SPD Riley, RK Wayne. 2014. Disease and freeways drive genetic change in urban bobcat populations. Evolutionary Applications 8:75-92 [link].
AJ Lea, NH Learm, MJ Theus, J Altmann, SC Alberts. 2014. Complex sources of variance in female dominance rank in a nepotistic society. Animal Behaviour 94:87-99 [link].
DM Shier, AJ Lea, MA Owen. 2012. Beyond masking: Endangered Stephen's kangaroo rats respond to traffic noise with footdrumming. Biological Conservation 150:53-58 [link].
Before 2012
AJ Lea and DT Blumstein. 2011. Ontogenetic and sex differences influence alarm call responses in mammals: a meta-analysis. Ethology 117:839-851 [PDF].
AJ Lea and DT Blumstein. 2011. Age and sex influence marmot antipredator behavior during periods of heightened risk. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65:1525-1533 [PDF].
AJ Lea, DT Blumstein, TW Wey, JGA Martin. 2010. Heritable victimization and the benefits of agonistic relationships. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:21587-21592 [PDF].
DT Blumstein, AJ Lea, LE Olson, JGA Martin. 2010. Heritability of anti-predator traits: vigilance and locomotor performance in marmots. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23:879-887 [PDF].
AJ Lea, JP Barrera, LM Tom, DT Blumstein. 2008. Heterospecific eavesdropping in a nonsocial species. Behavioral Ecology 19:1041-1046 [PDF].
B Sadoughi*, RM Petersen*, SK Patterson, E Slikas, C Adjandba, N Ryan, CE Costa, LE Newman, MM Watowich, CR Kelsey, A Greenier, EA Goldman, JEN Del Valle, D Phillips, I Thompson, SE Bauman Surratt, O Gonzalez, NR Compo, AG Burgos-Rodriguez, Cayo Biobank Research Unit, AR DeCasien, KL Chiou, CS Walker, AV Ruiz Lambides, MI Martinez, KN Sterner, LJN Brent, JP Higham, MJ Montague, ML Platt, N Snyder-Mackler*, AJ Lea*. Age and early life adversity shape heterogeneity of the epigenome across tissues in macaques. Science, accepted.
RM Petersen*, SK Patterson*, A Widdig, CM Turcotte, SC Antón, SA Williams, AN Romero, SE Bauman Surratt, AV Ruiz Lambides, Cayo Biobank Research Unit, N Snyder-Mackler, LJN Brent, JP Higham, AJ Lea. Early life adversity shapes life history trade-offs between growth and reproduction in free-ranging rhesus macaques. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, accepted.
RM Petersen, R Tennyson, TBT A/P Tan Boon Huat, KL Tam, MM Watowich, K Fadzil, C Nicholas, I Sayed, K Ng, YAL Lim, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. Early life environments shape adult cardiometabolic health during rapid lifestyle change. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, accepted.
IJ Wallace, DT Felson, VB Kraus, T Neogi, IK Haugen, JL Huebner, CMT Sena, TL Kivell, NB Holowka, S Worthington, YAL Lim, VV Venkataraman, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. 2026. Dampened inflammation and reduced risk of osteoarthritis among non-industrialized societies. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 34:18-27 [link].
2025
AJ Lea, IV Caldas, KM Garske, J Echwa, M Gurven, C Handley, J Kahumbu, J Kamau, P Kinyua, F Lotukoi, A Lopurudoi, S Lowasa, R Mallarino, D Martins, PW Messer, C Miano, B Muhoya, J Peng, T Phung, JD Rabinowitz, A Roichman, R Siford, A Stone, AM Taravella-Oill, S Mathew, MA Wilson, JF Ayroles. 2025. Adaptations to water stress and pastoralism in the Turkana of northwest Kenya. Science, 389: 1246-1251 [link].
S Rosenbaum, A Malani, AJ Lea, J Tung, SC Alberts, EA Archie. 2025. Testing early life effects frameworks: developmental constraints and adaptive response hypotheses do not explain fertility outcomes in female baboons. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, 292: 20242485 [link].
G Housman, AM Arner, A Longtin, C Gagnon, A Durvasula, AJ Lea. 2025. Addressing missing context in regulatory variation across primate evolution. Current Opinions in Genetics and Development, 93: 102374 [link].
RM Petersen, CM Vockley, AJ Lea. 2025. Uncovering methylation-dependent genetic effects on regulatory element function in diverse genomes. Genome Research, doi.org/10.1101/gr.279957.124 [link].
M Franck, K Tanner, R Tennyson, C Daunizeau, L Ferrucci, S Bandinelli, BC Trumble, HS Kaplan, JE Aronoff, TS Kraft, AJ Lea, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, YAL Lim, K Seong Ng, J Poe Sheng Yeong, R Chun Man Ho, A Mehrjerd, E Charalambous, AE Aiello, G Pawelec, J Hertel, T Fülöp, M Lemoine, M Gurven, AA Cohen. 2025. Nonuniversality of inflammaging across human populations. Nature Aging, doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-00888-0 [link].
A Longtin, M Watowich, B Sadoughi, RM Petersen, SF Brosnan, K Buetow, W Cai, MD Gurven, HM Highland, YT Huang, H Kaplan, TS Kraft, YAL Lim, J Long, AD Melin, J Roberson, KS Ng, J Stieglitz, BC Trumble, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, J Wu, N Snyder-Mackler, A Jones, AG Bick, AJ Lea. 2025. Cost-effective solutions for high-throughput enzymatic DNA methylation sequencing. PLoS Genetics, 21:e1011667 [link].
2024
C Costa, MM Watowich, E Goldman, K Sterner, J Negron-Del Valle, D Phillips, M Platt, M Montague, L Brent, J Higham, N Snyder-Mackler*, AJ Lea*. 2024. Genetic architecture of immune cell DNA methylation in the rhesus macaque. Molecular Ecology, doi: 10.1111/mec.17576 [link].
SK Patterson, E Andonov, AM Arre, MI Martínez, JE Negron-Del Valle, RM Petersen, D Phillips, A Rahman, A Ruiz-Lambides, I Villanueva, AJ Lea, N Snyder-Mackler, LJN Brent, JP Higham. 2024. Early life adversity has sex-dependent effects on survival across the lifespan in rhesus macaques. Philosophical Transactions B, 379:20220456 [link].
M Gurven, A Sarieddine, AJ Lea. 2024. Health disparities among Indigenous peoples: exploring the roles of evolutionary and developmental mismatch on cardiometabolic health. Annual Review of Anthropology, 53:55-73 [link].
AW Reynolds, AJ Lea, MA Nieves-Colón. 2024. Genomics research in lower- and middle-income countries: ethics, common challenges, and emerging solutions. In: M Moller, G Patrinos, C Uren, eds. Population Genomics in the Developing World. Elsevier Academic Press.
L Brassington*, A Arner*, M Watowich, J Damstedt, N Kee Seong, YAL Lim, VV Venkataraman, I Wallace, TS Kraft, AJ Lea. 2024. Integrating the Thrifty Genotype and Evolutionary Mismatch Hypotheses to understand variation in cardiometabolic disease risk. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, eoae014 [link].
M Watowich, C Costa, K Chiou, E Goldman, R Petersen, S Patterson, M Martinez, K Sterner, J Horvath, M Montague, M Platt, L Brent, J Higham, AJ Lea*, N Snyder-Mackler*. 2024. Immune gene regulation is associated with age and environmental adversity in a nonhuman primate. Molecular Ecology, doi.10.1111/mec.17445 [link].
RM Petersen, AJ Lea. 2024. Preview: Diet composition impacts eQTL discovery across multiple tissues in baboons. Cell Genomics, 4:100524 [link].
RA Johnston, KA Aracena, LB Barreiro, AJ Lea, J Tung. 2024. DNA methylation-environment interactions in the human genome. eLife, doi.org/10.7554/eLife.89371.2 [link].
JA Anderson, D Lin, AJ Lea, RA Johnston, T Voyles, MY Akinyi, E Archie, SC Alberts, J Tung. 2024. DNA methylation signatures of early life adversity are exposure-dependent in wild baboons. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121:e2309469121 [link].
KP Pettie, M Mumbach, AJ Lea, JF Ayroles, HY Chang, M Kasowski, HB Fraser. 2024. Chromatin activity identifies differential gene regulation across human ancestries. Genome Biology, 25:21 [link].
2023
AJ Lea, AG Clark, AW Dahl, O Devinsky, AR Garcia, CD Golden, J Kamau, TS Kraft, YAL Lim, D Martins, D Mogoi, P Pajukanta, G Perry, H Pontzer, BC Trumble, SS Urlacher, VV Venkataraman, IJ Wallace, M Gurven, D Lieberman, JF Ayroles. 2023. Applying an evolutionary mismatch framework to understand disease susceptibility. PLoS Biology, 21: e3002311 [link].
MM Watowich, KL Chiou, B Graves, MJ Montague, LJN Brent, JP Higham, JE Horvath, Amy Lu, MI Martinez, ML Platt, IA Schneider-Crease, AJ Lea, N Snyder-Mackler. 2023. Best practices for genotype imputation from low-coverage sequencing data in natural populations. Molecular Ecology Resources, online early [link].
SK Patterson, RM Petersen, LJN Brent, N Snyder-Mackler, AJ Lea, JP Higham. 2023. Natural animal populations as models for understanding early life adversity effects on aging. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 63:681-692 [link].
S Peterson, M Watowich, L Renner, S Martin, E Offenberg, AJ Lea, M Montague, J Higham, N Snyder-Mackler, M Neuringer, B Ferguson. 2023. Genetic variants in melanogenesis proteins TYRP1 and TYR are associated with the golden rhesus macaque phenotype. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, online early [link].
S Wolf, D Melo, KM Garske, LF Pallares, AJ Lea, JF Ayroles. 2023. Characterizing the landscape of gene expression variance in humans. PLoS Genetics, 19:e1010833 [link].
BC Trumble, M Charifson, T Kraft, AR Garcia, DK Cummings, P Hooper, AJ Lea, D Eid Rodriguez, SV Koebele, K Buetow, B Beheim, R Minocher, M Gutierrez, GS Thomas, M Gatz, J Stieglitz, CE Finch, H Kaplan, M Gurven. 2023. Apolipoprotein E4 is associated with higher fecundity in a natural fertility population. Science Advances, 9:eade9797 [link].
I Gallego Romero*, AJ Lea*. 2023. Leveraging massively parallel reporter assays for evolutionary questions. Genome Biology, 24:26 [link].
AJ Lea, A Garcia, J Arevalo, JF Ayroles, K Buetow, SW Cole, D Eid Rodriguez, M Gutierrez, HM Highland, A Justice, T Kraft, KE North, J Stieglitz, H Kaplan, BC Trumble, MD Gurven. 2023. Natural selection of immune and metabolic genes associated with health in South American Amerindians. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120:e2207544120 [link].
2022
LP Pallares*, AJ Lea*, C Han, EV Filippova, P Andolfatto, JF Ayroles. 2022. Dietary stress remodels the genetic architecture of lifespan variation in outbred Drosophila. Nature Genetics, 55:123-129 [link]
AJ Lea, J Peng, JF Ayroles. 2022. Diverse environmental perturbations reveal the evolution and context-dependency of genetic effects on gene expression levels. Genome Research, 32:1-14 [link].
IJ Wallace, AJ Lea, YAL Lim, SKW Chow, I bin Mohd Sayed, R Ngui, MTH Shaffee, KS Ng, C Nicholas, VV Venkataraman, TS Kraft. 2022. Orang Asli Health and Lifeways Project (OA HeLP): Study Protocol. BMJ Open, 12:e058660 [link].
J Anderson, AJ Lea, T Voyles, M Akinyi, R Nyakundi, L Ochola, M Omondi, F Nyundo, Y Zhang, FA Campos, SC Alberts, EA Archie, J Tung. 2022. Distinct gene regulatory signatures of dominance rank and social bond strength in wild baboons. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 377: 20200441 [link].
2018-2021
AJ Lea, C Waigwa, B Muhoya, F Lotukoi, J Peng, LP Henry, V Abhyankar, J Kamau, D Martins, M Gurven, JF Ayroles. 2021. Social gradients in health vary between rural and urban Turkana. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 9:406-419 [link].
CSC Johnson, CA Shively, KT Michalson, AJ Lea, RJ DeBo, TD Howard, GA Hawkins, SE Appt, Y Liu, CE McCall, D Herrington, TC Register*, N Snyder-Mackler*. 2021. Divergent effects of Western and Mediterranean diets on behavior and monocyte polarization. eLife, 10:e68293 [link].
JA Anderson*, RA Johnston*, AJ Lea, FA Campos, TN Voyles, MY Akinyi, SC Alberts, EA Archie, J Tung. 2021. High social status males experience accelerated epigenetic aging in wild baboons. eLife, 10:e66128 [link].
AJ Lea, D Martins, J Kamau, M Gurven, JF Ayroles. 2020. Urbanization and market-integration have strong, non-linear effects on cardiometabolic health in the Turkana. Science Advances, 6:eabb1430 [link].
AJ Lea*, S Rosebaum*. Understanding how early life effects evolve: progress, gaps, and future directions. 2020. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 36:29-35 [link].
AJ Lea*, M Subramaniam*, A Ko, T Lehtimäki, E Raitoharju, M Kähönen, I Seppälä, N Mononen, OT Raitakari, M Ala-Korpela, P Pajukanta, NA Zaitlen, JF Ayroles. 2019. Genetic and environmental perturbations lead to regulatory decoherence. eLife, 8:e40538 [link].
AJ Lea, CM Vockley, RA Johnston, CA Del Carpio, LB Barreiro, TE Reddy, J Tung. 2018. Genome-wide quantification of the effects of DNA methylation on human gene regulation. eLife, 7:e37513 [link].
AJ Lea, MY Akinyi, R Nyakundi, P Mareri, F Nyundo, T Kariuki, SC Alberts, EA Archie, J Tung. 2018. Dominance rank-associated immune gene expression is widespread, sex-specific, and a precursor to high social status in wild male baboons. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115:E12163-E12171 [link].
N Snyder-Mackler*, AJ Lea*. 2018. Functional genomic insights into the environmental determinants of mammalian fitness. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 53:105-112 [link].
AJ Lea, J Tung, EA Archie, SC Alberts. 2018. Developmental plasticity: bridging research in evolution and human health. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 1:162-175 [link].
*See also: AJ Lea, J Tung, EA Archie, SC Alberts. 2018. Developmental plasticity research in evolution and human health: response to commentaries. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 1:201-205 [link].
LEK Serieys, AJ Lea, M Epeldegui, TC Armenta, J Moriarty, S VandeWoude, S Carver, J Foley, RK Wayne, SPD Riley, CH Uittenbogaart. 2018. Urbanization and anticoagulant poisons promote immune dysfunction in bobcats. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B, 285:20172533 [link].
2012-2017
AJ Lea, PAP Durst, TP Vilgalys, J Tung. 2017. Maximizing ecological and evolutionary insight from bisulfite sequencing data sets. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1:1074-1083 [link].
P Charruau, R Johnston, DR Stahler, AJ Lea, N Snyder-Mackler, DW Smith, B vonHoldt, SW Cole, J Tung, RK Wayne. 2016. Pervasive effects of aging on gene expression in wild wolves. Molecular Biology and Evolution 33:1967-1978 [link].
AJ Lea, J Altmann, SC Alberts, J Tung. 2016. Resource base influences genome-wide DNA methylation levels in wild baboons. Molecular Ecology 25:1681-1696 [link].
AJ Lea, J Tung, X Zhou. 2015. A flexible, efficient binomial mixed model for identifying differential DNA methylation in bisulfite sequencing data. PLoS Genetics 11:e1005650 [link].
KP Koepfli, J Pollinger, R Godinho, J Robinson, AJ Lea, S Hendricks, RM Schweizer, O Thalmann, P Silva, Z Fan, AA Yurchenko, P Dobrynin, A Makunin, JA Cahill, B Shapiro, F Alvares, JC Brito, E Geffen, JA Leonard, KM Helgen, WE Johnson, SJ O'Brien, B Van Valkenburgh, RK Wayne. 2015. Genome-wide evidence reveals that African golden jackals are a distinct species. Current Biology 25:2158–2165 [link].
AJ Lea, J Altmann, SC Alberts, J Tung. 2015. Developmental constraints in a wild primate. The American Naturalist 185: 809-821 [link].
LEK Serieys, AJ Lea, J Pollinger, SPD Riley, RK Wayne. 2014. Disease and freeways drive genetic change in urban bobcat populations. Evolutionary Applications 8:75-92 [link].
AJ Lea, NH Learm, MJ Theus, J Altmann, SC Alberts. 2014. Complex sources of variance in female dominance rank in a nepotistic society. Animal Behaviour 94:87-99 [link].
DM Shier, AJ Lea, MA Owen. 2012. Beyond masking: Endangered Stephen's kangaroo rats respond to traffic noise with footdrumming. Biological Conservation 150:53-58 [link].
Before 2012
AJ Lea and DT Blumstein. 2011. Ontogenetic and sex differences influence alarm call responses in mammals: a meta-analysis. Ethology 117:839-851 [PDF].
AJ Lea and DT Blumstein. 2011. Age and sex influence marmot antipredator behavior during periods of heightened risk. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65:1525-1533 [PDF].
AJ Lea, DT Blumstein, TW Wey, JGA Martin. 2010. Heritable victimization and the benefits of agonistic relationships. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:21587-21592 [PDF].
DT Blumstein, AJ Lea, LE Olson, JGA Martin. 2010. Heritability of anti-predator traits: vigilance and locomotor performance in marmots. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23:879-887 [PDF].
AJ Lea, JP Barrera, LM Tom, DT Blumstein. 2008. Heterospecific eavesdropping in a nonsocial species. Behavioral Ecology 19:1041-1046 [PDF].