About

Thomas McDade is a biological anthropologist specializing in human population biology. His work is primarily concerned with the dynamic interrelationships among society, biology, and health over the life course, with an emphasis on life course approaches to stress and the human immune system. The development and application of minimally-invasive methods for integrating physiological measures into population-based research is also a major area of interest. Prior research in Samoa, and ongoing research in Bolivia and Ecuador, investigates how local cultural transitions associated with globalization affect human development and health, while research in the Philippines explores the long-term developmental consequences of early nutritional and microbial environments. He is currently applying conceptual and methodological tools from this work to US-based research on health disparities, with an emphasis on the potential contributions of stress and environments in infancy. Dr. McDade is the Director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research, the Center on Social Disparities and Health (Cells to Society, C2S), and the Graduate Cluster in Society, Biology, and Health. His work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. He was a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2002. McDade is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Immunology
• Virology
• Clinical psychology
• Social psychology
• Veterinary medicine
• Genetics
• Biology
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Developmental psychology

Selected publications

• The National Couples’ Health and Time Stress Biology Study (NCHAT-BIO): Wave 1 Methodology Report and Wave 3 Preview

  2026-01-14

  articleOpen access

  Objective. Sexual minority populations are growing, experience elevated physical and mental health risks, and have unique stressor exposures. However, biopsychosocial research on sexual minority individuals at the population level remains limited. Addressing this gap, we launched the National Couples’ Health and Time Stress Biology Study (NCHAT-BIO), the first US-based study focused on stress biology within a large, diverse sample of married/cohabiting sexual minority and heterosexual adults. NCHAT-BIO capitalized on the unique opportunity of NCHAT, a population-representative US sample which intentionally oversampled sexual minority respondents. Methods. NCHAT-BIO was approved by The Ohio State University and Gallup Institutional Review Boards. A total of 950 participants completed at-home dried blood spot (DBS) collection with return by mail. After exclusions, 787 respondent samples were assayed. Samples were analyzed for interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) antibodies. Final analytic samples were: IL-6 (n=452), CRP (n=663), EBV (n=647, including n=84 EBV negative). These biomarker data can be merged with rich NCHAT survey responses, time diaries with an embedded Experience Sampling Method (ESM) component, and contextual state- and county-level indicators. Dissemination. Wave 1 NCHAT-BIO data have been deposited at ICPSR for public release; the current report should be cited in future empirical manuscripts using these data. Wave 1 NCHAT survey data are also at ICPSR, and the two archives will be linked to facilitate integrated use. Future Directions. Whole blood data collection from Wave 3 NCHAT participants will begin in 2026. Planned assays, which will also become publicly available, include IL-6, CRP, and epigenetic aging (per DNA methylation).

  PublisherDOI

• Social Support, Loneliness, and Inflammation in LGB+ Subgroups: Health Disparities in a Partnered US Cohort

  Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine · 2026-03-16

  article

  OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in social support, loneliness, and immune function by sexual orientation and to explore whether social support and loneliness mediate immune outcomes. METHODS: Participants (394 heterosexual, 144 gay/lesbian, 144 plurisexual) completed the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire and the UCLA Loneliness short-form and provided dried blood spot samples to index i mmune markers [Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) titers, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6)] between September 2020 and November 2021. RESULTS: Plurisexual (Cohen's d =-0.80) and heterosexual ( d =-0.64) males had lower friend support than gay males ( p' s < .0015), plurisexual ( d =-0.42) and gay/lesbian ( d =-0.40) adults reported lower family support than their heterosexual peers ( p' s < .001), and plurisexual people had higher CRP levels compared with gay/lesbian ( d =0.37) and heterosexual people ( d =0.22) ( p 's < .039). Lower social support did not explain plurisexual adults' higher inflammation, but BMI partially explained plurisexual adults' higher IL-6 [indirect effect: 0.15 (0.04 to 0.26)] and CRP [indirect effect: 0.21 (0.04 to 0.38)], compared with heterosexual adults. CONCLUSIONS: Partnered plurisexual individuals face lower social support and greater inflammation-suggesting that partnered status alone does not ensure health equity. These findings underscore the need to better understand and address the unique social and biological vulnerabilities of plurisexual people. BMI may partially explain plurisexuals' higher inflammation, but further longitudinal research is warranted.

  PublisherDOI

• Self-rated health and inflammation: Associations among partnered sexual minority and heterosexual adults.

  Health Psychology · 2026-03-09

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Self-rated health (SRH), as measured by a single item, is a well-established and remarkably robust predictor of morbidity and mortality, yet few studies have examined its biological correlates across diverse sexual orientation identities. METHOD: Using data from the population-representative National Couples' Health and Time study (NCHAT) and its biospecimen substudy (NCHAT-BIO), this study explored the relationship between lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or other nonheterosexual identities (LGBQ+), SRH, and systemic inflammation. Among 3,477 partnered (married or cohabiting) cisgender adults, 42.6% identified as LGBQ+, and a subset of 652 (41.3% LGBQ+) provided dried blood spot samples analyzed for interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS: value for IL-6: .46, for CRP: .39). The associations between SRH and inflammatory markers were slightly attenuated after inclusion of key health and behavioral covariates, suggesting potential mediating factors warranting future investigation. CONCLUSIONS: These findings replicate prior research on SRH and inflammation and extend them to LGBQ+ plus adults, underscoring the importance of inclusive health measurement. Given SRH's robust predictive power for future morbidity and mortality, integrating assessments of sexual orientation and biological markers offers critical insight for understanding and addressing health disparities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Everyday Discrimination and Adolescents’ Mental Health: Evidence From an Ecological Momentary Assessment

  The Journal of Early Adolescence · 2026-01-07

  article

  Adolescents who report discrimination experience worse mental health. However, most research has been cross-sectional and retrospective. This study investigated how prospectively-assessed day-to-day perceptions of everyday discrimination relate to mental health symptoms in 395 adolescents across a 14-day ecological momentary assessment. Black adolescents reported discrimination on more days (15%) than White adolescents (6%), as did economically disadvantaged (11%) versus non-disadvantaged adolescents (6%). On days adolescents reported experiencing versus not experiencing discrimination, they reported elevated depression, anxiety, inattention ( β s = 0.06-0.10), and conduct problem ( OR = 3.03) symptoms. Cross-lagged multi-level models showed few next-day associations, except that discrimination predicted adolescents’ next-day inattention (but not vice-versa; β = .06) and conduct problems predicted next-day discrimination reports ( OR = 1.73; but not vice versa). Findings highlight that, even at this young age, Black and economically disadvantaged adolescents report frequent exposure to everyday discrimination, with robust linkages between perceived discrimination and same-day mental health symptoms.

  PublisherDOI

• The protective effect of breastfeeding on infant inflammation: A mediation analysis of the plasma metabolome and lipidome

  Atherosclerosis · 2025-07-18

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Positive and Negative Coping Behaviors: Associations with Immune Function in a Sexually Diverse US Sample

  2025-11-19

  articleOpen access

  Individuals engage in a variety of coping behaviors, both positive and negative. Coping affects mental and physical health, including immune function. Data from the National Couples’ Health and Time Study (NCHAT) found differences in coping patterns by sexual orientation, which may have implications for health disparities. The current analyses expand upon these findings to examine immune correlates of coping in a subset of 653 NCHAT participants in the Stress Biology sub-study (NCHAT-BIO). Assays for inflammatory markers [interleukin(IL)-6, C-reactive protein(CRP)] and cellular immune function (Epstein-Barr virus antibody levels) were conducted. Group differences were observed in positive coping, with gay/lesbian respondents reporting the highest levels, followed by plurisexual and heterosexual respondents. Differences in negative coping were also observed, with the highest levels among plurisexual respondents, followed by gay/lesbian and heterosexual respondents. Controlling for age, BMI, sex, and health conditions, negative coping was associated with higher CRP with no moderating effects by sexual orientation. These data provide novel evidence linking greater negative coping with inflammation, per higher CRP, with similar magnitude of association regardless of sexual orientation. Although no significant group differences in inflammatory markers were observed in relation to sexual orientation within this sample, greater negative coping among sexual minority adults could contribute to such effects at the population level. Improving coping via intervention has the potential to benefit not only psychological well-being, but also physiological functioning, particularly among individuals with greater negative coping patterns.

  PublisherDOI

• Teacher unfairness in adolescence, educational attainment, and adult Health: The role of school- and individual-level perceptions tested in a national cohort study

  SSM - Population Health · 2025-04-25 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  •Teacher unfairness in adolescence predicted higher depression.•Greater perceived teacher unfairness relative to peers predicted higher depression.•School-wide teacher unfairness predicted poorer self-rated health in adulthood.•Educational attainment mediates the link of teacher unfairness and adult health.

  PublisherDOI

• Sexual Minority Adults Exhibit Greater Inflammation than Heterosexual Adults in the Context of Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety: Pathways to Health Disparities

  2025-11-19

  articleOpen access

  Background: Sexual minority individuals, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other non-heterosexual (LGB+) adults have significantly greater risk for mental and physical health conditions, disparities linked with minority stress exposure. Methods: Utilizing a Biopsychosocial Minority Stress Framework, this study examined depressive symptoms, anxiety, and inflammatory markers [interleukin(IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP)] in a diverse sample of 572 adults (321 heterosexual; 251 LGB+). Results: LGB+ adults reported greater anxiety and depressive symptoms (ps &amp;lt; 0.01). This effect was partially mediated by greater exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACES) among LGB+ respondents. Compared to heterosexual adults, controlling for key potential confounds, LGB+ adults exhibited greater elevations in both IL-6 (BSM = 0.025, SE = 0.011 vs BHETERO = -0.0068, SE = 0.01; interaction p = 0.031) and CRP (BSM = 0.036, SE = 0.013 vs. BHETERO = -0.0090, SE = 0.013; interaction p = 0.012) in relation to depressive symptoms. LGB+ adults also showed greater increases in CRP in the context of anxiety (BSM = 0.043, SE = 0.017 vs BHETERO = -0.011, SE = 0.015; interaction p = 0.017). These effects were not accounted for by differences in body mass index (BMI) or tobacco use. Conclusions: LGB+ adults may experience greater inflammatory burden due to both 1) greater prevalence of anxiety and depression, and 2) sensitization to negative inflammatory sequalae in the context of anxiety and depression. Greater ACES contributed to the greater prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among LGB+ as compared to heterosexual participants. Ultimately, differential prevalence of, and physiological responses, to anxiety and depressive symptoms may contribute to physical and mental health disparities among sexual minority adults.

  PublisherDOI

• Evaluation of a DNA methylation-based measure of chronic inflammation in two generations of adults in metropolitan Cebu, Philippines

  medRxiv · 2025-03-25

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Objectives Proxy measures of chronic inflammation derived from DNA methylation (DNAm) data have emerged as promising predictors of cardiometabolic disease risk in high income countries. This study investigates the performance of a recently validated DNAm-based measure of C-reactive protein (DNAm-CRP) in two generations of adults in the Philippines to evaluate its utility in lower and middle income settings experiencing high levels of endemic infections as well as rising rates of chronic degenerative diseases. Methods DNAm-CRP was calculated from 1,468 CpG sites on the Infinium MethylationEPIC v1.0 array applied to genomic DNA from leukocytes in young adults (N=1,665; 20-22 years) and older women (N=1,070; 35-68 years). C-reactive protein was determined in plasma using a high sensitivity immunoturbidimetric assay. Pearson correlation and least squares regression were implemented to evaluate the strength of association between DNAm-CRP and plasma CRP, and to investigate patterns of association between DNAm-CRP and established predictors of chronic inflammation. Results For younger adults, the correlation between DNAm-CRP and log-transformed CRP was 0.41, and DNAm-CRP explained 17.2% of the variance in CRP. For older women, the correlation was 0.47, with 22.7% explained variance in CRP. For both cohorts larger waist circumference was associated with higher DNAm-CRP. The presence of infectious symptoms at the time of blood collection and leukocyte composition were both significant predictors of DNAm-CRP. Conclusions In two generations of adults in the Philippines, we document strong correlations between DNAm-CRP and plasma CRP. DNAm-CRP may be a useful tool for research on chronic inflammation across a range of epidemiological and ecological settings globally, but future applications should consider how recent infections and the distribution of leukocyte subsets may confound or mediate associations of interest.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Self-Rated Health and Inflammation: Associations among Partnered Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Adults

  2025-11-19

  articleOpen access

  Objective: Self-rated health (SRH), as measured by a single item, is a well-established and remarkably robust predictor of morbidity and mortality, yet few studies have examined its biological correlates across diverse sexual orientation identities. Methods: Using data from the population-representative National Couples Health and Time study (NCHAT) and it's biospecimen sub-study (NCHAT-BIO), this study explored the relationship between LGBQ+ identity, SRH, and systemic inflammation. Among 3477 partnered (married or cohabiting) cisgender adults, 42.6% identified as LGBQ+ and a subset of 654 (42.9% LGBQ+) provided dried blood spot samples analyzed for IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Results: In the full NCHAT sample, LGBQ+ respondents reported significantly poorer SRH than their heterosexual peers (LGBQ+ vs. Heterosexual: t = 3.3574, df = 3466, p-value &amp;lt; 0.001). In the NCHAT-BIO subsample, poorer self-rated health was significantly related to both higher IL-6 (beta = -0.22, SE = 0.041, p &amp;lt; 0.0001) and higher CRP (beta = -0.40, SE = 0.055, p &amp;lt; 0.0001), supporting the hypothesis that subjective health assessments may capture interoceptive awareness of inflammatory status. Importantly, the strength of the association between SRH and inflammation did not differ across groups based on sexual orientation and gender (Interaction p-value for IL-6: 0.54, for CRP: 0.45). The associations between SRH and inflammatory markers were attenuated after inclusion of key health and behavioral covariates, suggesting potential mediating factors warranting future investigation. Conclusions: These findings replicate prior research on SRH and inflammation and extend them to LGBQ+ plus adults, underscoring the importance of inclusive health measurement. Given SRH's robust predictive power for future morbidity and mortality, integrating assessments of sexual orientation and biological markers offers critical insight for understanding and addressing health disparities.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• RAPID: Next phase serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 for biocultural research

  NSF · $199k · 2020–2022

• PECASE: Acculturation, Health, and the Ecology of Immune Function: Integrated Research and Education in Human Population Biology

  NSF · $300k · 2002–2007

• Early environments, epigenetics, and inflammation during pregnancy

  NSF · $284k · 2014–2018

• Ecology of inflammation in lowland Bolivia

  NSF · $132k · 2010–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Christopher W. Kuzawa

  Northwestern University

  130 shared

• Victòria Reyes-García

  Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats

  95 shared

• Judith B. Borja

  Foundation University

  69 shared

• Linda S. Adair

  University of North Carolina Health Care

  68 shared

• William R. Leonard

  Northwestern University

  48 shared

• Susan Tanner

  46 shared

• Tomás Huanca

  Centro de Información y Desarrollo de la Mujer

  44 shared

• Michael S. Kobor

  University of British Columbia

  41 shared

Labs

• Biological Anthropology LaboratoryPI

Education

• Ph.D., Anthropology

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1994

• M.A., Anthropology

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1991

• B.A., Anthropology

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1988

Awards & honors

• Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers…
• Elected member of the National Academy of Sciences
• Elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences