Faculty Profiles
Frank Johnston
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PIA Research Interests:

Frank Johnston focuses on the biological aspects of anthropological questions, sorting through the intricate connections among human behavior, society, culture, and biology. His research specialization is the growth and development of children, especially the effects of the social and cultural environment on nutrition and health. He has conducted numerous studies regarding children in less developed countries and, more recently, among socially disadvantaged populations in the U.S. His research has taken him to Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Ecuador, New Guinea, and South Africa, but a major part of his research energy has been expended in Guatemala. In a major project Johnston compared the growth of children from very poor communities with children from more affluent sectors of the society, demonstrating that the social and cultural circumstances of a community have a profound impact on child development. In many developed parts of the world, for instance, children's growth rate is accelerated and people are getting bigger as indicated by height. Data from Johnston's 50-year-old longitudinal study show that Guatemalan children do not have accelerated growth or height, suggesting that the social and cultural environment that supports their growth has changed little.

In recent years Frank Johnston has developed academically-based community service projects in West Philadelphia as part of the University of Pennsylvania Center For Community Partnerships. He is the Faculty Director of the Urban Nutrition Initiative and the Turner Nutritional Awareness Project.