Nikhil Chaudhary

Dr Nikhil Chaudhary is an Assistant Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Cambridge where he runs a dedicated Evolutionary Psychiatry lab, he is also an executive committee member of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has been conducting research with BaYaka hunter-gatherers from Congo for over a decade. His current work explores how discordances between the childrearing practices typical of our evolutionary history and those which are common in industrialised societies today may increase vulnerability to mental health problems among mothers and children. He is also working on a psychoeducation project—informing mothers about evolutionary perspectives on social support and childcare—aiming to reduce shame and encourage help-seeking among women struggling with motherhood.