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Joanna Zyrek

Doctoral student

Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig

e-mail: joanna_zyrek@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de

Research Interests
Education
Research Experience
Conferences

Research Interests

With a background in public health, I became interested in evolutionary perspectives on women's health and well-being, and later, on motherhood. Currently pursuing PhD research, under the supervision of Dr. Heidi Colleran, Dr. Andrzej Galbarczyk, and Dr. Sarah Myers, my focus is on understanding the social determinants of reproduction in rural southern Poland. My primary interests lie in understanding kin and non-kin influences on reproduction, alloparenting, and the moralization of reproductive decision-making. In a broader context, my academic interests extend to life-history theory, social network analysis, cooperative breeding, and cultural evolution. I am a member of the BirthRites Lise Meitner Research Group.

Education

2023-presentPhD Candidate
International Max Planck Research School “The Leipzig School of Human Origins” (IMPRS LSHO)
Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
2020-2022 MSc in Public Health
Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Excellence in Public Health, Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, Spain
2017-2020Bachelor’s degree in Public Health
Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Research Experience

2022Master thesis: “Social support during pregnancy and the risk of postpartum depression”
Supervisor: Dr Andrzej Galbarczyk
Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
2020Bachelor's thesis: “Relationship between women's education and their health and well-being – literature review”
Supervisor: Prof Grażyna Jasieńska
Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
2018-2022Research assistant
Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
Principal investigator: Prof Grażyna Jasieńska
„Developmental programming and physical activity at adulthood in relation to levels of sex steroid hormones in women: implications for breast cancer prevention” (2017/25/B/NZ7/01509)

Conferences

2022

Żyrek, J., Klimek, M., Apanasewicz, A., Ciochoń, A., Danel, D. P., Marcinkowska, U. M., Mijas, M., Ziomkiewicz, A., Galbarczyk, A.  “Social support during pregnancy and postpartum depression”
Poster
European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (EHBEA) Conferences, Leipzig, Germany

2021

Żyrek, J., Zalisz, A. M., Galbarczyk, A., Klimek, M., Miłkowska, K., Nenko, I., Jasienska, G. “Is there a relationship between duration of breastfeeding and age at menarche”
Poster
European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (EHBEA) Conferences, Kraków, Poland

2019

Żyrek, J., Zalisz, A. M., Galbarczyk, A., Klimek, M., Nenko, I., Jasienska, G. “Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) polymorphism and women's reproductive success”
Poster
European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (EHBEA) Conferences, Toulouse, France