As a biological anthropologist who adopts a cultural perspective, my overarching research interests apply human adaptability and political economic theories towards a bio-cultural understanding of contemporary human variation. I direct these theoretical lenses at current controversies within anthropology and public health over the roles that structure v. agency play in contributing to nutritional health disparities in human populations.  Rather than viewing health disparities through this “either-or” dichotomy, I aim to elucidate how contemporary patterns of nutritional health result from the interaction between structural constraints (i.e. social, cultural, political and/or economic) and individual agency.  My concern with these broader theoretical questions stems from a more focused interest in the nutritional health issues facing US refugee populations during the process of resettlement. My current research examines the variety of ways that Bhutanese refugees, in particular, are negotiating the nutritional constraints of rapid social, cultural, economic, and political change, and how these interactions produce differential nutrition status outcomes throughout the life-course and across subsequent generations.