Fujita, Masako
(Ph.D. University of Washington, 2008)
Assistant Professor
fujitam@msu.edu

MASAKO FUJITA (BA, MA, Anthropology, U Victoria Canada, 2002; MA, Ph.D., Anthropology, U Washington, 2008) is an assistant professor of the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University. As a biological anthropologist, I combine clinical, epidemiological, anthropological, and laboratory theories and methods to better understand pandemic diseases and malnutrtion in contemporary human populations. I have worked with Ariaal and Rendille peoples of northern Kenya, investigating the consequence of sedentarization and life-style change on maternal diet and health. I currently lead a research program among Ariaal women investigating an underlying cause for the persistent public health problem of vitamin A deficiency from an evolutionary ecological perspective. I am also involved in biomarker research, primarily based on enzyme immunoassays. My research partners include researchers from the Centre for Public Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute (Nairobi, Kenya); the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington (Seattle, USA); and the Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria (Victoria, Canada).

I am a core faculty member of the MSU Physical Anthropology Program, Medical Anthropology Program, African Studies Center, and the Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen). I am in the process of establishing a biomarker laboratory at MSU with support from MSU Anthropology and MSU College of Social Science. I teach ANP 202 Biocultural Evolution and ANP 443 Human Adaptability.

Recent Publications

• 2009   Fujita M, BrindleE, Rocha A, Shell-DuncanB, Ndemwa P, Oconnor K.Assessment of the relative-dose response test based on serum retinol-binding protein in lieu of serum retinol for determining low hepatic vitamin A stores. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90:217-24.
• 2009   Roth EA, Ngugi E, Fujita M. HIV/AIDS risk and worry in Northern Kenya. Health, Risk and Society 11(3):231-239.
• 2008   Fujita M. An Evolutionary Perspective on Mother-Offspring Vitamin A Transfer (Abstract). American Journal of Human Biology 20 (2): 219-220.
• 2007  Fujita M, Brindle E, Shofer J, Ndemwa P, Kombe Y, Shell-Duncan B, O’Connor KA. Retinol-binding protein stability in dried blood spots. Clinical Chemistry 53(11):1972-1975.
• 2006   Fujita M. Maternal vitamin A deficiency in a settled Ariaal community in northern Kenya: a direction for future research. Journal of Development Alternative and Area Studies 25(3):88-100.
• 2006   Roth EA, Ngugi E, Fujita M. Self deception does not explain high-risk behavior in the face of HIV/AIDS: a test from northern Kenya. Evolution and Human Behavior 27(1):53-62.
• 2004   Fujita M, Roth EA, Nathan M, and Fratkin EM. Sedentism, Seasonality and Economic Status: A Multivariate Analysis of Maternal Dietary and Health Statuses between Pastoral and Agricultural Ariaal and Rendille Communities in Northern Kenya. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 123(3):277-91.

Recent Grants

• 2009-present   MSU School of Social Science Faculty Initiative Fund Research Grant
• 2009   MSU Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID-WID) Foreign and Domestic Research Travel Grants
• 2006-2008    National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
• 2006-2008    Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Dissertation Fieldwork Grant
• 2006-2007    Micronutrient Initiative Grant (portable fluorometer field test)
• 2003-2005   Puget Sound Partners for Global Health, Global Partnership Travel Grant