Katie Hinde, PhD

Katie Hinde serves as Associate Professor and Director of the Comparative Lactation Lab at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, where she conducts groundbreaking research on mother's milk and its impact on infant development. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Anthropology from UCLA, postdoctoral training in neuroscience at the California National Primate Research Center, and a faculty position at Harvard University before joining ASU. Her research has revealed crucial insights about breast milk's composition and effects, including how it differs between sons and daughters, contains over 1,500 proteins affecting infant development, and influences infant behavior through hormones like cortisol. She has received numerous accolades, including Early Career Awards from the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation and the American Society of Primatologists. Beyond her academic work, she actively engages in science communication through her blog "Mammals Suck... Milk!", created the popular March Mammal Madness outreach program, and co-authored "Building Babies." Her work has been featured in major publications including National Geographic, The New York Times, and Wall Street Journal, while also appearing in Netflix's "Babies" documentary series.