Current Students
| Kasey Schleper is a PhD Student in Anthropology at UCLA. She is currently working on her dissertation examining the impacts of the fragmentation of perinatal care in the US. She has also conducted field work on healthcare decisions in the Kunene region, Namibia, and previously worked on the Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project in Costa Rica. |  |
| Belle Savastio is an anthropology undergraduate student at UCLA. In 2025 she joined the field team to collect data on healthcare decisions in the Kunene region, Namibia. |  |
| Sophie Ashley is an undergraduate studying Human Biology & Society with an anthropology minor. She is currently working on a project to understand medical mistrust and other drivers of vaccination decisions in Africa using publicly available data. She plans to attend medical school after graduation. |  |
Prospective graduate students
I am interested in mentoring graduate students as part of our PhD program. I am particularly interested in students applying evolutionary and anthropological approaches to health decision making, including vaccination, medical mistrust, self-efficacy, social learning, and related topics. Students may have opportunities for field work in Namibia depending on interests and goals. Prospective students should contact me prior to applying. For more information on our graduate program, see the UCLA Biological Anthropology website.
Prospective undergraduate research assistants
I occasionally have opportunities for undergraduate research assistants to work on various projects. Prospective students should have some background in biological anthropology, and have taken one or more of my courses, or provide relevant references from UCLA professors. Students may pursue course credit (i.e. Anthro 199) for their work on these projects. Please contact me if you are interested.
sprall@ucla.edu