people

Amy Boddy

Amy Boddy
Anthropology
University of California, Santa Barbara
Assistant Professor

Amy M. Boddy is a human biologist and evolutionary theorist in the Department of Anthropology. Her work uses applications from evolution and ecology to understand human health and disease. She uses a combination of genomics, computational biology and evolutionary theory to understand life history trade-offs between survival and reproduction across different levels of biological organization. One component of her research program examines how environmental cues, such as high extrinsic mortality, may guide resource allocations to cancer defenses and reproduction. Current cancer research topics include comparative oncology, intragenomic conflict, cellular life history trade-offs, and early life adversity and cancer outcomes later in life. In addition to her cancer research, she studies maternal/fetal conflict theory and the consequences of fetal microchimeric cells in maternal health and disease. 

Grant, Awards and Distinctions:

NIH U54: ACE Pilot Funding. Prevalence of reproductive cancers in nonhuman primates. Boddy is Co-PI. $7,350 total direct. 2021-2022.

NIH U54: ACE Pilot Funding. Molecular evolution of immunity, reproduction and cancer genes in crocodilians. Boddy is Co-PI. $13,500 total direct. 2021-2022.

NIH U54: ACE Pilot Funding. Oncogenic mutational signatures in cancer-like phenotypes in Acropora. Boddy is Co-I. $14,680 total direct. 2021-2022

NIH U54: ACE Pilot Funding. Of pan-species histology and macroecology: chasing a solution to Peto’s paradox across mammals. Boddy is Co-I. $12,000 total direct. 2021-2022.

John Templeton Foundation: We All Are Multitudes: the Microchimerism, Human Health and Evolution Project. $4,643,000 total direct. Boddy is Co-PI. 2021-2023

National Cancer Institute. $7,500,000 total direct. Co-Leader Project 1.2018-2023.

National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (U54). Arizona Cancer Evolution Center. Applying models of evolution to cancer across scales, from species down to cells. $7,500,000 total direct. Boddy is Co-Leader Project 1. $263,024 total directs to UCSB. 2018-2023.

University of California Santa Barbara, Academic Senate Grant. The functional role of fetal microchimerism in maternal health. $11,513, PI.

National Science Foundation. Pregnancy-induced inflammation and obstacles to breastfeeding success in an industrialized environment. $30,934, Co-PI with student Carmen Hové. 2019-2021.

Administrative Supplement. Characterization of Elephant Tumor Evolution. $38,180 total direct. Co-PI. 2019-2020.

ACE Pilot Funding. Phenotypic and Genomic Responses to DNA Damage in Crocodilians. Co-PI. $8,000. 2019-2020.

ACE Pilot Funding. Somatic Mutations in Tumors from Wild African Elephants. Co-PI. $25,155 2019-2020.

 

Publications

AbdulJabbar K, Castillo SP, Hughes K, Davidson H, Boddy AM, Abegglen LM, Murchison EP, Graham TA, Spiro S, Palmieri C, Yuan Y. 2023. 
"Bridging clinic and wildlife care with AI-powered pan-species computational pathology. "
Nature Communications. 14.1: 2408.
Kapsetaki SE, Fortunato A, Compton Z, Rupp SM, Nour Z, Riggs-Davis S, Stephenson D, Duke EG, Boddy AM, Harrison T M, Maley CC, Aktipis A. 2023.
"Is chimerism associated with cancer across the tree of life? "
PloS one 18.6(e0287901.
Boddy AM. 2022. 
"The need for evolutionary theory in cancer research. "
European Journal of Epidemiology. 1-6.
Boddy AM, Rupp S, Yu Z, Hanson H, Aktipis A, Smith K. 2022. In press. 
"Early life adversity, reproductive history, and breast cancer risk. "
Evolution, Medicine and Public Health. 
Abegglen LM, Harrison TM, Moresco A, Fowles JS, Troan BV, Kiso WK, Schmitt D, Boddy AM, Schiffman JD. 2022. In press. 
"Of elephants and other mammals: A comparative review of reproductive tumors and potential impact on conservation. "
Animals. 2022 In Press.
Dujon AM, Boutry J, Tissot S, Lemaitre JF, Boddy AM, Gerard A, Alvergne A, Arnal A, Vincze O, Nicolas D, Giraudeau M, Telonis-Scott M, Schultz A, Pujol P, Biro P, Beckmann C, Hamede R, Roche B, Ujvari B, Thomas F. 2022. 
"Cancer susceptibility as a cost of reproduction and contributor to life history evolution. "
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10 (2022): 861103.
Natterson-Horowitz B, Boddy AM, Zimmerman, D. 2022. 
"Female Health Across the Tree of Life: Insights at the Intersection of Women's Health, One Health and Planetary Health. "
PNAS nexus 1.2 (2022): pgac044.
Vincze O, Colchero F, Lemaitre JF, Conde D, Pavard S, Bieuville M, Urrutia AO, Ujvari B, Boddy AM, Maley CC, Thomas F, Giraudeau M. 2022. 
"Cancer risk across mammals. Nature."
601.7892 263-267
Tollis M, Ferris E, Campbell M, Harris V, Rupp S, Harrison T, Kiso WK, Schmitt D, Aktipis A, Maley C, Boddy AM, Yandell M, Sciffman JD, Abegglen LM. 2021.
"Elephant genome reveal accelerated evolution in mechanisms underlying disease defenses. "
Molecular Biology and Evolution. 38.9 3606-3620.
Ujvari B, Dujon A, Aktipis A, Alix-Panabières C, Amend S, Boddy AM, Brown J, Capp JP, DeGregori J, Ewald P, Gatenby R, Gerlinger M, Giraudeau M, Hamede R, Hansen E, Kareva I, Maley CC, Marusyk A, McGranahan N, Metzger M, Nedelcu A, Noble R, Nunney L, Pienta K, Polyak K, Pujol P, Read A, Roche B, Sebens S, Solary E, Stanková K, Thomas F, Ewald HS. 2021. 
"Identifying key questions in the ecology and evolution of cancer. "
Evolutionary applications 14.4: 877-892.
Gunst A, Sudén M, Korja R, Boddy AM, Kotler J, Paavonen EJ, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Antfolk J. 2021. 
"Postpartum depression and mother-offspring conflict over maternal investment. "
Evolution, Medicine and Public Health. 9.1: 11-23.
Marques C, Compton Z, Boddy AM. 2021. 
"Connecting paleopathology and evolutionary medicine to cancer research: past and present. "
Evolving Health: Paleopathology and Evolutionary Medicine, Oxford University Press. 
Ujvari B, Dujon A, Aktipis A, Alix-Panabières C, Amend S, Boddy AM, Brown J, Capp JP, DeGregori J, Ewald P, Gatenby R, Gerlinger M, Giraudeau M, Hamede R, Hansen E, Kareva I, Maley CC, Marusyk A, McGranahan N, Metzger M, Nedelcu A, Noble R, Nunney L, Pienta K, Polyak K, Pujol P, Read A, Roche B, Sebens S, Solary E, Stanková K, Thomas F, Ewald HS. 2021. 
"Identifying key questions in the ecology and evolution of cancer. "
Evolutionary applications 14.4 877-892. 
Tollis M, Ferris E, Campbell M, Harris V, Rupp S, Harrison T, Kiso WK, Schmitt D, Aktipis A, Maley C, Boddy AM, Yandell M, Sciffman JD, Abegglen LM. 2021. 
"Elephant genome reveals insights into differences in disease susceptibility between species. "
Molecular Biology and Evolution 
Gunst A, Sudén M, Korja R, Boddy AM, Kotler J, Paavonen EJ, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Antfolk J. 2021.
"Postpartum depression and mother-offspring conflict over maternal investment. "
Evolution, Medicine and Public Health. 9.1 11-23. 
Boddy AM, Harrison T, Abegglen LM. 2020.
"Comparative Oncology: New Insights into an ancient disease. "
iScience 101373. 
Somarelli JA, Boddy AM, Gardner H, Bartholf DeWitt S, Tuyohy J, Megquier K, Sheth MU, Hsu D, Thorne JL, Eward WC. 2020. 
"Improving cancer drug discovery by studying cancer across the tree of life. "
Molecular Biology and Evolution 37.1: 11-17. 
Boddy AM, Abegglen LM, Pessier AP, Schiffman JD, Maley C, Witte C. 2020. 
"Lifetime cancer prevalence and life history traits in mammals. "
Evolution, Medicine and Public Health 187-195.
Somarelli JA, Gardner H, Cannataro VL, Gunady EF, Boddy AM, Johnson NA, Fisk JN, Gaffney SG, Chuang JH, Li S, Ciccarelli FD. 2020. 
"Molecular biology and evolution of cancer: from discovery to action. "
Molecular Biology and Evolution, 37(2), 320-326. 
Boddy AM, Abegglen LM, Schiffman JD, Maley CC, Witte C. 2020. 
"Does placental invasiveness lead to higher rates of malignant transformation in mammals? "
Evolution, Medicine and Public Health 215-216.
Campenni M, May AN, Boddy AM, Harris V, Nedelcu AM. 2020. 
"Agent‐based modelling reveals strategies to reduce the fitness and metastatic potential of circulating tumour cell clusters. "
Evolutionary Applications.