EDUCATION

University of Washington – Seattle, PhD Candidate, Expected Summer 2022
Department: Biological Anthropology, Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (Funded Fellow),
Research Interests: Psychosocial Stress, Human Evolutionary Biology, Mental Health, Population Health, Student-Athletes, Anthropology of Sports
Advisor: Dr. Dan Eisenberg

University of Washington – Seattle, M.A., Fall 2017
Department: Biological Anthropology
Advisors: Dr. Dan Eisenberg, Dr. Bettina Shell-Duncan

Harvard College, A.B. Recommended for Honors in Field, May 2010
Field: Human Evolutionary Biology: Mind, Brain, and Behavior Honors Track
Senior Honors Thesis: Imitative and Cognitive Development in Human Infants. Advised by: Dr. Richard Wrangham and Dr. Joyce Benenson

PUBLICATIONS IN PREP/UNDER REVIEW

Tennyson RL, Ryan CP, Kuzawa CW, Eisenberg DTA. (In Preparation). Does maternal early life stress predict young adult offspring’s biological age in the Philippines? Preregistration: https://osf.io/2pmhy/.

Tennyson RL, Wander K, McDade TW, Shell-Duncan B, Eisenberg DTA. (In Preparation). An ADHD-associated polymorphism in the DRD4 gene and nutritional status among Rendille children in northern Kenya. Analysis Plan and initial results posted on Open Science Frameworks: osf.io/p8yv2.

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Harel EV, Shetreet E, Tennyson RL, Fava M, Bar M. (Accepted). Constricted semantic relations in Acute Depression. Journal of Affective Disorders.

Rivara, FP, Tennyson RL, Mills B, Emery C, Gioia G, Giza C, Herring S, Janz K, LaBella C, McLeod TV, Meehan, W, Patricios J. (2020). Consensus Statement on Sport-related Concussions in Youth Sports. JAMA Pediatrics. . doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.4006.

Rej PH, Tennyson RL, Lee NR, Eisenberg DTA. (2019). Caregiving for disabled family members does not predict telomere length in the Philippines. Psychoneuroendocrinology. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.01.019. Preregistration: https://osf.io/a9xbu/.

Tennyson RL, Gettler LT, Kuzawa CW, Hayes MG, Agustin SS, Eisenberg D. (2018). Lifetime socioeconomic status and early life microbial environments predict adult blood telomere length in the Philippines. American Journal of Human Biology. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23145.

Logan-Greene, P., Tennyson, RL., Borja, S., Nurius, P. (2017). Adverse Childhood Experiences, Coping Resources, and Mental Health Problems Among Court-Involved Youth. Child & Youth Care Forum. doi: 10.1007/s10566-017-9413-2.

Tennyson RL, Kemp CG, Rao D. (2016). Challenges and Strategies for Mental Health Measurement for Research in Low-Resource Settings. International Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihw043.

Harel EV, Tennyson RL, Fava M, Bar M. (2016). Impaired Function and Structure in Networks Processing Contextual information in Acute Non-medicated Major Depression. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27553369/.

Benenson, JF, Tennyson, R, Wrangham, RW. (2011). Male more than female infants imitate propulsive motion.Cognition, 121, 262-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.07.006.

PRESENTATIONS

Tennyson RL, Ryan CP, Duazo P, Carba D, Hayes MG, Kuzawa CW, Eisenberg DTA. (2022). Does maternal early life stress predict young adult offspring’s biological age in the Philippines? Human Biology Association Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.

Nanda AN*, Tennyson RL. (2022). Examining the Influence of Psychosocial Stress on Telomere Length in NCAA Collegiate Swimmers. American Association of Biological Anthropology Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. Preregistration: https://osf.io/4qk2m/ (* – Undergraduate Mentee)

RL Tennyson. (2019). Systematic review of the association between cortisol secretion and telomere length in humans. Poster Presentation at the Human Biology Association Annual Meeting. Cleveland, OH. Data publicly available: https://osf.io/62h8y/

PH Rej, RL Tennyson, NR Lee, DTA Eisenberg. (2019). Caregiving for disabled family members does not predict telomere length in the Philippines. Flash Talk at the Human Biology Association Annual Meeting. Cleveland, OH.

RL Tennyson, Wander K, McDade TW, Shell-Duncan B, Eisenberg DTA. (2018). An ADHD-associated polymorphism in the DRD4 gene and nutritional status among Rendille children in northern Kenya. Poster Presentation at the Human Biology Association Annual Meeting. Austin, TX. Analysis Plan and results posted on Open Science Frameworks: osf.io/p8yv2.

RL Tennyson, LT Gettler, CW Kuzawa, MG Hayes, SS Agustin, DTA Eisenberg. (2017). Does early life pathogen exposure modify the link between psychosocial stress and telomere length in the Philippines? Podium Presentation at the Human Biology Association Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA.

RL Tennyson, CG Kemp, D Rao. (2016). Challenges and Strategies for Implementing Mental Health Measurement for Research in Low-Resource Settings. Poster Presentation at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Annual Conference. San Francisco, CA.  

RL Tennyson, EV Harel, M Bar. (2016). Selective decreases in the hippocampus in Major Depressive Disorder: a Life History approach. Poster Presentation at the Human Biology Association Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA.

RL Tennyson, LT Gettler, CW Kuzawa, MG Hayes, DTA Eisenberg. (2015). Early life psychosocial stress and blood telomere length among young adults in the Philippines. Poster Presentation at the Human Biology Association Annual Meeting. St. Louis, MO.  

Logan-Greene, P., Nurius, P., Borja, S., Tennyson, R. (2015). Adverse Childhood Experiences, Protective Factors, and Mental Health Problems Among Court-Involved Youth. Podium Presentation at the Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference. New Orleans, LA.

Tennyson, R. (2013). Epigenetics: How our environment affects our biology. Guest lecture given for Vanderbilt University course on Medicine, Health, and Society.

RESEARCH POSITIONS

University of Washington – Seattle, Department of Anthropology Seattle, WA
Research Scientist (January 2021 – Present)
Anthropological Genetics Laboratory
Principal Investigator: Dr. Dan Eisenberg

Casimir Trials Remote – Seattle, WA
Research Associate (May 2020 – Present)
Description: Work centers on conducting qualitative interviews and building outcome-based assessments that center patient’s and caregiver’s perspectives, specifically in trials of treatments for rare disorders and diseases.

University of Washington – Seattle, Department of Pediatrics, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center Seattle, WA
Research Consultant (April 2018-Present)
Project: Development of Evidence-based Expert Consensus Recommendations on Selected Issues in Youth Collision and Contact Sport; Determining impacts of alcohol-based prohibition laws and gun violence
Supervisor: Dr. Frederick P. Rivara

University of Washington – Seattle, Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) Seattle, WA
Graduate Research Student Assistant (September 2017-April 2018)
Projects: UW College of Engineering RAPID admissions project, multiple other projects focused on improving representation of women and underrepresented minorities in the STEM
Project Investigator: Dr. Emily Knaphus-Soran, Dr. Elizabeth Litzler

University of Washington – Seattle, Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology Seattle, WA (September 2016-September 2017)
Funded Graduate Fellowship, Project: Does early life microbial exposure moderate the effects of psychosocial stress on telomere length?
Mentor: Dr. Dan Eisenberg

University of Washington – Seattle, Department of Anthropology Seattle, WA (June 2014-December 2016)
Lab Manager, Anthropological Genetics Laboratory.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Dan Eisenberg

University of Washington – Seattle, Department of Anthropology Seattle, WA (September 2013-June 2014)
Research Assistant, Project: Assay development and literature reviews as well as performance of general lab maintenance.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Dan Eisenberg

Vanderbilt University, Department of Anthropology Nashville, TN (August 2012-July 2013)
Research Assistant, Project: Epigenetic Consequences of Extreme Social Deprivation in Early Childhood, assist in other projects as needed
Principal Investigator: Dr. Amy Non

Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology, Nashville, TN (August 2012-July 2013)
Research Analyst, Projects: Anhedonia and the neural basis of effort-based decision-making in depression, Neuromodulation of Motivated Cognition and Decision Making Across Adulthood
Principal Investigator: Dr. David Zald

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (July 2011-July 2012)
Research Coordinator, Project: fMRI and Behavioral Studies of Visual Memory and Object Recognition
Principal Investigators: Dr. Moshe Bar and Dr. Eiran Harel

New York University, Department of Anthropology, New York, NY (June 2010-November 2010)
Research Assistant, Project: Comparative Socioecology of Spider and Woolly Monkeys in Amazonian Ecuador
Principal Investigators: Dr. Anthony Di Fiore and Dr. Andres Link

Harvard University, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Cambridge, MA (August 2008-February 2009)
Research Assistant, Project: Dissertation project comparing social development in chimpanzees and bonobos
Principal Investigator: Dr. Victoria Wobber

Harvard University, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Cambridge, MA (August 2007 – January 2008)
Research Assistant, Project: Dissertation project comparing feeding behaviors of chimpanzees and bonobos
Principal Investigators: Dr. Alexander Georgiev and Dr. Richard Wrangham

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (March 2007 – June 2007)
Research Assistant, Project: Effects of Meditation on Working Memory
Principle Investigator: Dr. Sara Lazar

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2021

2020

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Fall Quarter, ANTH 369 – Anthropology of Soccer
Instructor: Sam Dubal and Holly Barker

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Fall Quarter, BIO A 351 – Principles of Evolutionary Medicine
Instructor: Dan Eisenberg

Graduate Student Instructor, University of Washington, Summer Quarter Full-Term, BIO A 370 – The Non-Human Primates

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Spring Quarter, BIO A 487 – Human Biological Adaptability
Instructor: Elen Feuerrigel

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Winter Quarter, BIO A 208 – Sex and Evolution
Instructor: Alex K. Hill

2019

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Fall Quarter, BIO A 455 – Laboratory Methods in Hormones and Behavior
Instructor: Melanie Martin

2018

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Spring Quarter, BIO A 459/559 – Anthropological Genetics Laboratory Methods
Instructor: Dan Eisenberg

2016

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Spring Quarter, ANTH 213 – Anthropology and Sports
Instructor: Holly M. Barker

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Winter Quarter, BIO A 459/559 – Anthropological Genetics Laboratory Methods
Instructor: Dan Eisenberg

2015

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Fall Quarter, BIO A 101 – Human Biological Diversity
Instructor: Alex K. Hill

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Spring Quarter, BIO A 201 – Principles of Biological Anthropology
Instructor: Henry Lyle III

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Winter Quarter, BIO A 459/559 – Anthropological Genetics Laboratory Methods
Instructor: Dan Eisenberg

2014

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Fall Quarter, BIO A 101 – Human Biological Diversity
Instructor: Patricia Kramer

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Spring Quarter, BIO A 469 – Anthropological Genetics Laboratory Methods
Instructor: Dan Eisenberg

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Winter Quarter, BIO A 455 – Reproductive Ecology Laboratory Methods
Instructor: Kathleen O’Connor

AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Conference Volunteer – American Association of Physical Anthropologists 2014 Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta
Description: Assisted in the setup and takedown of several poster sessions. Provided technical support for a podium session and general support throughout the conference.

Resources Committee, 2013-2014, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington Description: Allocate funds from the Department for visiting scholars and for support of research and travel conducted by graduate students.

TUTORING EXPERIENCE

Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2014-2016. Tutor student-athletes in anthropology, archaeology, statistics, and epidemiology courses.

GeNOM and ALVA Project, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Summer 2014. Tutored incoming Freshman from underrepresented groups in scientific research and STEM coursework. Project is aimed at recruiting and retaining involvement of underrepresented groups.

Horace Mann Elementary School, St. Paul, MN, 2010-2011. Tutored 3^rd-5^th graders in math and reading

Harvard University Bureau of Study Counsel, 2007-2010. Tutored Multivariable Calculus and Psychology

EXTRACURRICULARS

University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, 2011 Assistant strength coach for Division-III intercollegiate sports, including football, rugby, and women’s volleyball

Harvard University, 2006-2010 Varsity Football, Club Rugby, Club Ice Hockey