Daniel E. Brown

Professor of Anthropology

Background: I received a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Brown University , but got sidetracked in my junior year by an anthropology course taught by James Deetz. I caught the anthropology "bug" and focused my studies on biological anthropology in graduate school, receiving degrees (M.A. and Ph.D.) from Cornell University . My research interests are in how humans adapt to stress, whether of the physical variety (heat, cold, high altitude hypoxia) or, particularly, of the psychosocial variety. My research has been done in Hawai?i, both on Oahu and the Big Island . I am currently serving as the Coordinator of Research and Graduate Studies for the University of Hawai'i at Hilo .  I have also served a two year term as president of the Human Biology Association (see www.humbio.org for more details).

Current research: My current research has focused on the simultaneous use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and stress hormone analysis as a means of assessing the response of people to psychosocial stress. I am particularly interested in using these measures to try to understand more about ethnic differences in blood pressure and risk for both hypertension and stroke. My recent research studies have compared Filipino-American and Caucasian nurses, and Japanese-American and Caucasian school teachers in Hawaii; Filipino-Americans and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii have higher prevalence of hypertension than Caucasians. I currently am investigating ethnic differences in childhood obesity and in symptoms of menopause in Hawaii's multiethnic population.

I can be reached at dbrown@hawaii.edu

Some Selected Publications: Click here for Curriculum Vitae

Brown, Daniel E. (forthcoming) Measuring hormonal variation in the sympathetic nervous system (SAM): catecholamines, chapter in: Measuring Stress in Humans: A Practical Guide for the Field, Edited by Gillian Ice and Gary D. James, Cambridge University Press.

Sievert, Lynnette L., Lynn A. Morrison, Daniel E. Brown and Angela M. Reza (2007) "Hot flash experience among Japanese-American and Caucasian women living in Hilo , Hawaii .  Menopause 14:1-9.

Brown, Daniel E., Gary D. James and Phoebe S. Mills (2006) ?Occupational differences in job strain and physiological stress: female nurses and school teachers in Hawaii ,? Psychosomatic Medicine, 68: 524-530

Brown, Daniel E., Cynthia M. Beall, Kingman P. Strohl and Phoebe S. Mills (2006) ?Exhaled nitric oxide decreases upon acute exposure to high altitude hypoxia where lower levels are associated with fewer symptoms of acute mountain sickness,? American Journal of Human Biology, 18:196-202.

 Brown, Daniel E., Gary D. James, Lea Nordloh and Amy A. Jones (2003) ?Job strain andphysiological stress responses in nurses and nurse?s aides: Predictors of daily blood pressure variability,? Blood Pressure Monitoring, 8:237-242.

Brown, Daniel E., Gary D. James, Sue L. Aki, Phoebe Mills and Michaelyn B. Etrata (2003) ?A comparison of day-night blood pressure variation between normotensive Japanese-American and Caucasian school teachers in Hawaii ,? Journal of Hypertension, 21:2045-2051.

Brown, Daniel E., Lynnette Leidy Sievert, Sue L. Aki, Phoebe S. Mills, Michaelyn B. Etrata, Rena N.K. Paopao and Gary D. James 2001 "Effects of age, ethnicity and menopause on ambulatory blood pressure: Japanese-American and Caucasian teachers in Hawaii," American Journal of Human Biology, 13:486-493.

Brown, Daniel E. and Gary D. James 2000 "Physiological stress responses in Filipino-American immigrant nurses: The effects of residence time, lifestyle and job strain," Psychosomatic Medicine, 62:394-400.

Garruto, Ralph M., Michael A. Little, Gary D. James and Daniel E. Brown 1999 "Natural experimental models: The global search for biomedical paradigms among traditional, modernizing, and modern populations," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 96:10536-10543.

Brown, Daniel E., Gary D. James and Lea Nordloh 1998 "Comparison of factors affecting daily variation of blood pressure in Filipino-American and Caucasian nurses in Hawaii ," American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 106:373-383.

Kormondy, Edward J. and Daniel E. Brown 1998 Fundamentals of Human Ecology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. xix + 503 pp.

James, Gary D. and Daniel E. Brown 1997 "The biological stress response and lifestyle: Catecholamines and blood pressure," Annual Review of Anthropology, 26:313-335.

Brown, Daniel E., Tupou V. Koenig, Alexis M. Demorales, Ka'ohulani McGuire and Charlene T. Mersai 1996 "Menarche age, fatness, and fat distribution in Hawaiian adolescents," American J. of Physical Anthropology, 99:239-247.

Brown, Daniel E. 1994 "The effect of high altitude hypoxia and noise on peripheral responses to cold," Collegium Anthropologicum, 18:35 -43.

Brown, Daniel E., Tupou V. Koenig, Alexis M. Demorales, Konrad K. Mossman, Charlene M. Akina and Ehukai K. Sako 1993 "Relation of subcutaneous fat distribution to degree of admixture in native Hawaiian children" American Journal of Human Biology, 5:9-15.

Pearson, Jay D., Gary D. James and Daniel E. Brown 1993 "Stress and changing lifestyles in the Pacific: Physiological stress responses of Samoans in rural and urban settings" American Journal of Human Biology, 5:49 -60.

Brown, Daniel E., Craig J. Severance, Ehukai K. Sako, Deborah Y. Chun, Laura L. Young and Jerry L. Johnson 1992 "Growth and development of native Hawaiian school children: II. Body mass index and skinfold measurements" American Journal of Human Biology, 4:433-445.

Brown, Daniel E., Jerry L. Johnson and Craig J. Severance 1991 "Growth and development of native Hawaiian school children: I. Research design, stature and weight measurements" American Journal of Human Biology, 3:677-688.

Brown, Daniel E. 1989 "Acute mountain sickness and physiological stress during intermittent exposure to high altitude" Annals of Human Biology, 16:15 -23.

Brown, Daniel E., Ronette M. Lau, Stephanie A. Terlep and Elaine G. Robinson 1987 "Acclimatization in shift workers at high altitude: Cardio-pulmonary measurements" Human Biology, 59: 399-409.

Hanna, Joel M. and Daniel E. Brown 1983 "Human heat tolerance: An anthropological perspective" Annual Review of Anthropology, 12:259-284.

Brown, Daniel E. 1982 "Physiological stress and culture change in a group of Filipino-Americans: A preliminary investigation" Annals of Human Biology, 9:553-563.

Brown, Daniel E. 1981 "General stress in anthropological fieldwork" American Anthropologist, 83(1):74-92.

Hanna, Joel M. and Daniel E. Brown 1979 "Human heat tolerance: Biological and cultural adaptations" Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 22:163-186.

Courses taught on a regular basis:

Anth 100 (Cultural Anthropology)

While it is a bit unusual for a physical anthropologist to teach this course, I enjoy teaching it. It reaffirms my commitment to the four fields approach to anthropology.

Anth 115 (Human Evolution)

This course is a survey of physical anthropology at the introductory level, including biological background information, introductory primatology, paleoanthropology, and human biology.

Anth 315 (Ecological Anthropology)

A survey of human ecology from an anthropological perspective. It attempts to view human adaptations to the environment using the same approach as that used by biological ecologists for any species, but it also exposes the unique features of human ecology.

Anth 384 (Primatology)

The most challenging course for me to teach as I am not a primatologist. The course surveys the biology, evolution, ecology, and behavior of the non-human primates.

Anth 415 (Medical Anthropology)

The course is given partly in a seminar format. Human health issues are discussed from an anthropological perspective, with a heavy influence from ecological approaches. The course focuses on how human behaviors affect disease causation, but also covers introductory material in ethnomedicine.

Anth 450 (Physical Anthropology Laboratory)

This course involves hands-on experience with common methods used in physical anthropology research. It includes material on research design and analysis, osteology, genetics, and physiology.