Mecca Howe

Mecca Howe

Part-Time Faculty
Anthropology

I am a biocultural and applied anthropologist currently working as a senior researcher at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and Regional Data Trust. My independent research integrates socioecological and evolutionary frameworks to understand how environmental factors shape human biological variation and health outcomes. More specifically, I use community-engaged research to explore the impacts of food and nutrition insecurity and exposure to toxic chemicals on growth, development, and disease risk among urban and rural communities in the U.S. and Costa Rica. At the Charlotte Urban Institute, I lead projects related to quality of life in the Charlotte region and serve as the Program Director for the Gambrell Student Research Fellowship. I am also president-elect for the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition and co-producer of the Human Biology Association’s Sausage of Science podcast.

Research Interests:

·         Food systems and environments

·         Food (in)security

·         Nutrition

·         Environmental Health

·         Toxicants

·         Growth and development

·         Adolescence

·         Community-engaged research

Courses:

  • ANTH-5090-003 Topics in Anthropology: Nutritional Anthropology
  • ANTH-4090-003  Topics in Anthropology: Nutritional Anthropology
  • HHUM-4020-001 Topics in Health & Medical Humanities: Nutritional Anthropology
  • ANTH- 3020-001 Topics in Anthropology: Food, Culture, and Nutrition