Molly Eldridge Conducts Research in Kenya at Koobi Fora Field School

Over the summer, Molly Eldridge, of Warwick, New York, was among four SUNY Oneonta students who received funding through the Tyler Center for Global Studies to pursue research and creative projects abroad.

SUNY Oneonta students spent part of their summer exploring Latin America, Europe and Africa, completing projects under the guidance of faculty mentors. Their trips were made possible by a $20,000 grant to SUNY Oneonta from the Tyler Center, which supports 12 partner institutions across the country and funded 63 Tyler Fellows this summer.

"Our campus was honored to once again be selected as a partner institution of the Tyler Center for Global Studies," said Associate Director of Scholarly Activities Audrey Porsche. "The Center's generous support has allowed our students to not only conduct research or a creative project in another country but to also connect with students from around the country engaged in a wide variety of scholarly pursuits. It's a unique opportunity for these students and will help them in so many ways beyond their time at Oneonta."

Eldridge, a second-semester senior majoring in Anthropology and History with a minor in Geographic Information Systems, spent six weeks at the Koobi Fora Field School in northern Kenya studying how biological and cultural factors influence sleep in the local Daasanach community. Her project, "Studying the Modern Sleep Ecology at Koobi Fora, Kenya," examined the biological and cultural drivers of nap variation. Working with the field school's human biology team, she explored how sleep relates to daily life in a seminomadic, pastoralist lifestyle near the equator, combining her interests in anthropology and behavioral ecology with biological research.

During three weeks of fieldwork, Eldridge traveled with the team to 12 Daasanach communities to help collect data from residents. The team of more than 22 researchers and translators gathered information from approximately 500 people through surveys and biological measurements, including blood pressure, temperature, height, weight and skinfolds. Researchers also collected blood and urine samples at stations set up in churches, schools and other community spaces.

Eldridge had studied Swahili for more than a semester before the trip. Although the team communicated in English, learning Swahili helped her collaborate with fellow researchers and better understand the effort involved in working across languages and cultures.

Beyond the research, Eldridge gained new fieldwork skills and a deeper appreciation for her time in Kenya. Her research mentor, Dr. Kaedan O'Brien, assistant professor of biological anthropology, encouraged her to focus on the experience itself. Before she left, he told her, "Make the most of it-you'll never forget seeing your first elephant or Grevy's Zebra." His advice helped her appreciate moments beyond the research, including visiting elephant graveyards and watching the sunrises and sunsets.

"I am more than capable of doing things that I find challenging," said Eldridge. "It wasn't about, you know, making these connections and learning all the skills that I can. It was about taking in every moment...I watched every single sunrise and sunset while I was over there, and that means just as much as the skills that I learned."

Since returning to campus, Eldridge has presented her research publicly for the first time at the SRCA Summer Fellows Showcase Poster Session. She is pursuing an opportunity to present at the American Association of Biological Anthropologists' annual meeting next spring and hopes to publish her findings as a standalone paper. Her work on nap variation may also contribute to a larger study of sleep at Koobi Fora led by her research adviser, Dr. Ming-Fei Li. On Nov. 19, Eldridge will participate in the Tyler Center's virtual summit.

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