Elizabeth A. Archie Research Group

University of Notre Dame

How do social relationships and organization influence the spread of parasites and microbes among social mammals in the wild? The Archie lab tests how social organization and behavior affect parasite and microbe transmission within and between social groups using long-term population-based field studies. Researchers analyze links between social relationships and individual health, immune function, disease risk, and survival through behavioral observation, immunology assays, and noninvasive genetic sampling. The group works primarily with wild baboons in the Amboseli Ecosystem, Kenya to combine behavioral and microbiome datasets. Projects integrate behavioral data, parasitology, and genomic microbiome analyses to identify mechanisms linking sociality to health outcomes.