Cristina Gildee
Biography
Dr. Cristina Gildee is a Biological Anthropologist and Postdoctoral Scholar in the Biological Mechanisms of Healthy Aging (BMHA) Training Program (NIH/NIA T32 AG066574) at the University of Washington. Her research investigates how reproduction, mechanical loading, and cellular aging shape skeletal adaptation and bone health. She uses large-scale epidemiological datasets, such as NHANES, to increase demographic and phenotypic diversity in skeletal aging research, addressing long-standing gaps from historically homogenous sampling. Drawing on evolutionary theory, biomechanics, and cellular and molecular biology, her work examines the costs of reproduction and the biological mechanisms that drive skeletal aging.
​
​​Cristina earned her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Washington in 2025. Her dissertation, Bone Functional Adaptation: Life History Constraints and Implications for Aging Research, examined how parity, mechanical stress, and telomere length influence bone mineral density across the lifespan.​
​Primate Evolutionary Biomechanics Lab (PEBL)
As a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Primate Evolutionary Biomechanics Laboratory (PEBL), Cristina contributes to studies on human locomotor evolution, finite element modeling, functional morphology, skeletal adaptation, and age-related health disparities.
Teaching and Mentorship
Cristina teaches courses on skeletal adaptation and biological anthropology at the University of Washington and Green River College.
University of Washington
BIO A 469: Skeletal Adaptation (Autumn 2025)
Green River College
ANTH& 100: Survey of Anthropology (Autumn 2025)
Service
Cristina is a long-time advocate for public science communication. Since 2022, she has co-produced and co-hosted The Sausage of Science, for the Human Biology Association, highlighting research at the intersection of biology, culture, and epidemiology through conversations with scholars across disciplines.
Education
2025 - Ph.D., Biological Anthropology, University of Washington
Thesis: Bone Functional Adaptation: Life History Constraints and Implications for Aging Research
2021 - M.A. Biological Anthropology, University of Washington
2019 - B.S. Human Evolutionary Biology; Medical Anthropology & Global Health, University of Washington
Affiliations
Primate Evolutionary Biomechanics Laboratory (PEBL)
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE) Biodemography Laboratory
Biological Mechanisms of Healthy Aging Program (BMHA) (NIH/NIA T32 AG066574)
The Sausage of Science Podcast