Dr Emily Emmott

🚨MASTER AND SCHOLARSHIP ANOUNCEMENT🚨

The MSc in Human Evolution and Behaviour at University College London is a broad-based programme run by experts in the field. This year they are excited to share 2 bursaries for Home/UK students, and 1 for International students - based on financial need.

A4 poster of baby latching onto breast, with NHS and Better Health/Start for Life logo. Large text at the top says "It's ok I'm new to this too." Smaller text at the bottom says "If they could tell you, they'd say to give it a go. Visit Start for Life for support."

Just looking through some breastfeeding public health posters, and pleasantly surprised by the newer NHS ones.

We've come a long way from posters telling women it's natural/instinctive & breastfeeding means love and care.

Are you an international student wanting to study an MA/MSc at UCL Anthropology?

Take a look at the UCL Global Scholarships for Master's study, based on financial need: www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships...

A reminder that we have MSc/MA bursaries for home fee students at UCL Anthropology!

Early view of our Special Issue on the Anthropology of Adolescence at the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute is now available!

Take a look at our introduction here, which also provides summaries of all the papers in the special issue:

doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Two postdoctoral opportunities in evolutionary anthropology at Duke - HBES https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30783 Position Description The Pontzer Lab in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University seeks two Postdoctoral Associates for research in h...

Two postdoctoral opportunities in evolutionary anthropology at Duke University!
The Pontzer Lab is hiring for projects on human ecology, energetics, and aging & health.
More info: www.hbes.com/two-postdoct...

@ehbea.bsky.social

Graduate Taught Through critical, sensitive debate and analysis, students explore what it means to be human and apply their insights to today's domestic and global challenges.

Take a look at our postgrad programmes here: www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...

We have great programmes like MSc Human Evolution and Behaviour and MSc Medical Anthropology!

Julia Scott Memorial Bursary The aim of the Julia Scott Memorial Bursary is intended to enable students in financial need to pursue their postgraduate studies in the Anthropology Department at UCL.

Funding for students!!

New £6k UCL Anthropology MSc Bursary for Home students:
www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships...

You can also apply to the £10k UCL Bursary at the same time - so if you get both, it should cover all your fees & a chunk of living costs🤞
www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships...

@durhampsych.bsky.social current has 5 (FIVE!!) PhD studentships being advertised!

3 to work with me on children as agents of cultural evolution

2 to work with @drboothroyd.bsky.social on examining school-based body image interventions.

Please share and apply!

www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...

This is a great thing to do - I did it, loved it and it underpinned a Phil Trans B special issue 💜

If you want any advice DM me

Also my (with @drsarahmyers.bsky.social and @ehemmott.bsky.social successful application is on the EHBEA website to help guide you…. Just saying there’s still time 🕰️

"It is crucial to make psychology inclusive of all the world's people but vitally important to do this in ways that are respectful, ethical & empirically accurate. I weigh the promises & pitfalls of research in small-scale societies & discuss how we can improve our research practices moving forward"

There are lots of other findings in the paper🙂

It was nice to see findings align with evolutionary approaches to public health - that people don't live their lives prioritising health - but no space for discussion about this in the paper. Will leave that for another time!

It was clear in my interviews that parental experiences in pregnancy and birth were strongly influencing how parents viewed their children's BMI measurements being taken at school as part of the National Child Measurement Programme. Depersonalised care has long-term impact!

These participants often went to great length recalling their pregnancy/birth/postnatal experiences, where medical measurements were used bluntly to place them in "high risk" categories without careful consultation. This led to poor experiences & manifested as mistrust in healthcare + measurements.

BUT: If parents had negative experiences of medical measurements in the past, they rejected the usefulness of PH initiatives to measure children's BMI.

Like other parents, they viewed BMI as uncertain, but felt suspicion and discomfort around BMI being used as a diagnosis of "unhealthy weight."

Finding which I found most interesting:

Parents understood BMI as an imprecise measure.

Many parents nonetheless found it as a useful indicator to track children's growth. They accepted the uncertainty of BMI, combined it with other info, and used it to check children's physical growth.

New preprint!

"Parental beliefs and practices around child weight in London, England: insights from qualitative photo-elicitation interviews"

We explored how parents view child weight + weight-related behaviours, and discuss implications for public health practice.

doi.org/10.31235/osf...

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Calling Medical Anthropologists - job at UCL Anthropology (cover for colleague who recently got ERC grant). Teaching to start in January 2026.

www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

It's so traumatising! Sorry if you've had to go through it too!

And you tell your GP and midwife how awful it is, but they just don't... get it.

They tell you to "go to A&E if you can't keep liquid down."

But this advice is totally pointless when you are constantly drinking and constantly vomiting. Should you go to A&E... all the time???

Severe pregnancy sickness leads to abortions in women, mum says Sarah Spooner's husband once called an ambulance as she could not get off the floor due to the pain.

People often underestimate how awful pregnancy sickness is.

They think it's just vomiting.

It's not. It feels like your body is decomposing. You're in so much pain. You can't move. As this women says - it feels like you're going to die.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Research: Is teenage angst universal? Comparing England and Japan We are happy to announce that our research based on the "In My Life" photography project in England and Japan has just been published in the Journal of Adolescent Research.Below, lead author Dr Emily ...

And here is a short blog about the paper, written for teens (but anyone can read it!): www.adolescentsociality.com/post/researc...

Adolescence as a Key Period of Identity Development and Connectedness: A Comparative Autophotography Study in England and Japan - Emily H. Emmott, Yasuo Ihara, Yudai Tokumasu, Mari Nozaki, Atsuko Sait... Adolescence is identified as a key period for identity development, but anthropological literature hints at cross-cultural variations. Past research suggests Ja...

New paper!

What do teens in England and Japan view as important, and what does that tell us about adolescence?

Straddling anthropology and psychology, a massive piece of work that took 8 years from conception to publication. And one of my favourite projects 🙂

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

What a lovely memento!

Jane Lancaster, my doctoral adviser, was a giant in our field. She taught me one can be assertive and kind at the same time.
Her legacy of both research and mentorship spans across the globe.
Dr. Jane Lancaster, Pioneer in Human Evolutionary Sciences (1935-2025) share.google/TdRdZD6eD5nR...

Aid Groups Blame Israel’s Gaza Restrictions for ‘Mass Starvation’

The distance between what is in happening Gaza, fully backed with US dollars and political support, and the reaction of American politicians who by and large just don’t seem to care or support it is just completely brain-breaking.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/w...

To Raise Children, We Must First Raise Parents An anthropologist compares her early motherhood in London with child care experiences in a hunter-gatherer community of Central Africa.

“Parenting is never perfect. Cultures raise children differently, shaping adults valued by their own standards. But one truth emerges: Learning to care for others should start long before having a baby”

www.sapiens.org/biology/to-r...

Thanks, I will flag this to the student/PI!

Have 15 mins spare? One of our MSc students from UCL Anthropology is investigating global attitudes to breastfeeding. Anyone can take part, from anywhere in the world!

Available in various languages (select on top-right dropdown box)

日本語バージョンもあります！

Click link to take part👉 tinyurl.com/2t4us4ss