Bridget McGann

I'm a grad student in biological anthropology at University of Colorado Denver and a research assistant in THRiVE Discovery Lab at the University of Manitoba. I study the biology, evolution, and behavior of lactation in human and non-human primates.

In 2022 we published a paper on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected clinical breastfeeding support practices in a handful of Western countries. My thesis work is examining human lactation as a biocultural system, focusing on the downstream effects of interruptions in the generational transmission of the human milk microbiome, using longitudinal large cohort data spanning 3 generations.

I'm a passionate about science communication. I was a founding volunteer at the March for Science where I have served on the Communications team as well as in the Science | Governments, Institutions, and Society Summit (S|GNS) Working Group. My community work has included speaking engagements in the Chicago area with Wonder and Skepticism, and Science Riot.

I started out studying the behavioral ecology and critical medical anthropology of the maternal-infant dyad, birth, breastfeeding, infant sleep, and infant carrying. Over time, I have come to realize that at the center of all of these things is a beautiful, complex system that began evolving before dinosaurs: lactation. Deepening our understanding of this fascinating system is now the focus of my career. I mostly work from the biocultural, behavioral ecology, evolutionary medicine, and life history perspectives, and believe that cross-disciplinary collaboration is essential to painting a comprehensive picture of maternal-infant health.