Contact Information
607 S. Matthews Ave.
M/C 148
Urbana, IL 61801
Research Interests
Evolution of primate immunity, innate immunity, severe bacterial infections, sepsis, plague, Toxoplasma, host-pathogen interactions, immunogenomics, evolutionary medicine
Research Description
My research addresses the physiological consequences of the human experience and evolutionary past, particularly those that affect innate immune system function. Current projects focus on the functional divergence and diversification of primate immune systems, how past epidemics affect present day immune function diversity and how life experienceaffects the innate immune response.
Education
2012, PhD, City University of New York Graduate Center, Anthropology
Awards and Honors
2013-2015 Quebec Network of Applied Genetic Medicine (RGMA) Fellow
Courses Taught
ANTH 241 - Human Variation and Race
ANTH 499 - Topics in Anthropology (Evolution and Ecology of Immune Systems)/Evolutionary Immunology
ANTH 249 - Evolution and Human Disease
ANTH 499 - Topics in Anthropology (Anthropological Functional Genomics lab)
ANTH 499 - Topics in Anthropology (Anthropological Functional Genomics lab)
ANTH 499 - Topics in Anthropology (Anthropological Functional Genomics lab)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Associate Professor, Anthropology
Faculty Fellow, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Affiliate, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Affiliate, Center for Social & Behavioral Science
External Links
Recent Publications
Soranno, D. E., Coopersmith, C. M., Brinkworth, J. F., Factora, F. N. F., Muntean, J. H., Mythen, M. G., Raphael, J., Shaw, A. D., Vachharajani, V., & Messer, J. S. (2025). A review of gut failure as a cause and consequence of critical illness. Critical Care, 29(1), Article 91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-025-05309-7
Heiman, S. L., Hirt, E. R., Isch, C., Brinkworth, J. F., Cronk, L., Alcock, J., Aktipis, A., & Todd, P. M. (2023). Identities as predictors of vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Social Issues, 79(2), 556-577. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12569
Brinkworth, J. F., & Shaw, J. G. (2022). On race, human variation, and who gets and dies of sepsis. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 178(S74), 230-255. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24527
Brinkworth, J. F., & Rusen, R. M. (2022). SARS-CoV-2 Is Not Special, but the Pandemic Is: The Ecology, Evolution, Policy, and Future of the Deadliest Pandemic in Living Memory. Annual Review of Anthropology, 51, 527-548. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-041420-100047
Klunk, J., Vilgalys, T. P., Demeure, C. E., Cheng, X., Shiratori, M., Madej, J., Beau, R., Elli, D., Patino, M. I., Redfern, R., DeWitte, S. N., Gamble, J. A., Boldsen, J. L., Carmichael, A., Varlik, N., Eaton, K., Grenier, J. C., Golding, G. B., Devault, A., ... Barreiro, L. B. (2022). Evolution of immune genes is associated with the Black Death. Nature, 611(7935), 312-319. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05349-x