Dr Paula Sheppard is an evolutionary anthropologist and human behavioural ecologist specialising in human reproductive ecology, life-history theory, and evolutionary medicine. Her work takes a biocultural approach, where the interplay between biology and culture takes a central role in interpreting cultural variation in reproductive behaviour, health outcomes, and human life-histories. She is interested more generally in the behavioural ecology of families, maternal and child health, and evolutionary medicine. Most recently, Paula’s research is focused on reproductive decision-making in low-fertility settings.

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​After completing an MSc in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford and another MSc in Social Research Methods from the London School of Economics in 2011, she was awarded her PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2014. She has been at Oxford since 2016 and she is now a departmental lecturer in evolutionary anthropology and acting Director of Studies for Human Sciences at Wadham College.