Cara Ocobock

Cara Ocobock is human biologist who explores the physiological and behavioral mechanisms necessary to cope with and adapt to extreme climates and high levels of physical activity. She is an assistant professor for Anthropology, and the Director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at Notre Dame. Her research program integrates human biology and anthropology, with a focus on the interaction between anatomy, physiology, evolution, and the environment.

Ocobock works in northern Finland, Samoa, and American Samoa with numerous collaborators at Yale and University of North Carolina-Wilmington to assess brown fat presence and activity in these populations.

Finally, Ocobock is an avid powerlifter and loves to bring anthropology to sport. She has worked with hockey players at the collegiate and semi-professional level as well as collegiate track and field athletes. Her future work will assess the impact of social networks on powerlifting performance – bridging the cultural and biological domains within what is essentially a solitary sport.

“Human biology and culture are deeply integrated; you cannot understand one without the other. We need to apply that same integrated approach to studying sports and human performance, otherwise we cannot hope to reach our full athletic potential.”

Cara Ocobock

Learn more about Ocobock’s research and work here:

• With a Side of Knowledge podcast: On Reindeer Herders and Powerlifting
• COVID-19 Impact on Gym Lifters by Cara Ocobock
• Science communication in a time of massive misinformation by Cara Ocobock
• Resting Metabolic Rates Among Reindeer Herders in Finland by Cara Ocobock

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