Lee Gettler, professor of anthropology, elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
On Thursday, March 27, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced the 2024 class of AAAS Fellows including Lee Gettler, the Rev. John A. O’Brien College Professor of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame.
The 2024 class comprises 471 scientists, engineers and innovators across two dozen disciplines including anthropology, astronomy, biological sciences, chemistry, engineering and physics. AAAS is one of the world’s largest general scientific societies, and to be elected as a fellow is a lifetime honor.
“Professor Lee Gettler’s election to the American Association for the Advancement of Science is a well-deserved recognition of his superb scholarship and continued dedication to advancing our understanding of fatherhood, family dynamics and human development,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. “We are proud to congratulate him as an alumnus and a member of Notre Dame’s distinguished faculty.”
Gettler was recognized for his distinguished contributions to the fields of biological anthropology and human biology, particularly in the areas of male physiology and the evolution of human fathering.
His research, which has been funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the Jacobs Foundation among others, has focused on how men’s hormone physiology responds to major life transitions, such as marriage and fatherhood, and how men’s hormones relate to their behavior as parents and partners. Gettler draws on this work to frame questions about fathers’ roles in the evolutionary past. He has expanded his research to include studying variation in family life, parents’ health and child physiology.
AAAS launched its lifetime fellowship recognition in 1874, about 25 years after the association was founded. This first cohort included Rev. Joseph Celestine Basile Carrier, C.S.C., who in 1865 became the first director of the newly established College of Science at the University of Notre Dame.
More on Gettler’s research:
There’s no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to addressing men’s health issues globally
New study first to define link between testosterone and fathers’ social roles outside the family
Gettler is chair of the Department of Anthropology, director of Notre Dame’s Hormones, Health and Human Behavior Lab, and a faculty affiliate of the Eck Institute for Global Health and the William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families.
Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu
Latest ND NewsWire
- Meruelo Center partners with Visa to launch inaugural Visa Fintech Foundations programThrough a pilot partnership between Visa and the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development, University of Notre Dame undergraduate students now have the opportunity to learn about the financial technology (fintech) industry while also exploring career possibilities in the field.
- ‘Quiet eye’: Notre Dame psychologist identifies links between a steady gaze and elite performanceIn a recent study supported by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the Army Research Institute, Notre Dame psychologist Matthew Robison documented a phenomenon in eye movement — or “oculomotor dynamics” — that links a steady, focused gaze with superior levels of performance.
- New On Purpose immersion experiences help Notre Dame students hone their moral compasses over spring breakThis year, the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) launched On Purpose, a new education and formation opportunity. Inspired by the 2024–25 Notre Dame Forum theme of “What do we owe each other?”, the On Purpose program creates immersion experiences that allow undergraduates to engage with practitioners who demonstrate profound commitments to human dignity in challenging situations.
- ‘Who the messenger is matters’: Cultural leaders can positively influence population growthFertility rates across the world have been steadily dropping since 1950. Pinpointing the reasons is at the heart of Lakshmi Iyer's work as a professor of economics and global affairs. Her research exemplifies the kind of population-level research that Notre Dame Population Analytics (ND Pop), a new research initiative at the University, seeks to foster.
- Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, to receive 2025 Laetare MedalKerry Alys Robinson, the president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities USA, has been selected to receive the University of Notre Dame’s 2025 Laetare Medal — the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics — at Notre Dame’s 180th University Commencement Ceremony on May 18 (Sunday).
- Football, Catholics, and PrejudiceThe year 1924, when Grantland Rice penned his famous lede—“Outlined against a blue, gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again”—wasn’t the birth of Notre Dame football, but it was the moment when the University learned to leverage its gridiron fame for a greater purpose. A Hesburgh…
