Sharmi Sen

Evolutionary biology, social behavior, reproductive strategies, sexual selection, life history theory, behavioral endocrinology, genetics, microbiome, disease ecology, stress physiology

I am a postdoctoral research associate in Jason Kamilar's lab. I am currently working on an NSF funded project examining the gut-brain axis of wild kinda baboons living in Kasanka National Park, Zambia. Using behavioral and metagenomic data, this project will address how social structure and individual social phenotypes lead to variation in gut microbiome diversity in kindas. I received my PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan where I was advised by Dr. Jacinta Beehner. My dissertation research examined the dispersal decisions and male reproductive strategies of wild geladas living in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. I am passionate about inclusive fieldwork, mentoring, and working towards increasing diversity in academia. 

• DeLacey, P. M., Sen, S., Schneider‐Crease, I. A., Chiou, K. L., Lemma, A., Ayele, F., … & Snyder‐Mackler, N. (2023). Vascularization underlies differences in sexually selected skin coloration in a wild primate. Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17026
• Sen, S., Carrera, S. C., Heistermann, M., Potter, C. B., Baniel, A., DeLacey, P. M., Pertullo, L., Lu, A., & Beehner, J. C. (2022). Social correlates of androgen levels and dispersal age in juvenile male geladas. Hormones and Behavior, 146, 105264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105264
• Chiou, K. L., Janiak, M. C., Schneider-Crease, I. A., Sen, S., Ayele, F., Chuma, I. S., … & Snyder-Mackler, N. (2022). Genomic signatures of high-altitude adaptation and chromosomal polymorphism in geladas. Nature ecology & evolution, 6(5), 630-643. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01703-4
• DeLacey, P.M., Perlman, R.F., Sen, S., Schneider-Crease, I., Chiou, K.L., Lemma, A., Ayele, F., Higham, J.P., Lu, A., Snyder-Mackler, N., Beehner, J.C., Bergman, T.J. Assessing male gelada chest patches: color measurement and physiological mechanisms. Journal of Mammalian Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-021-00211-5
• Carrera, S. C., Sen, S., Heistermann, M., Lu, A., & Beehner, J. C. Low rank and primiparity increase fecal glucocorticoid metabolites across gestation in wild geladas. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 293, 113494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113494

blogpost: http://fieldperspectives.org/SharmiSen.html

Lab: Comparative Primatology Laboratory