Contributions of Roy J. Shephard to the Study of Circumpolar Human Biology and Health

More than any other scholar in our field, Professor Roy J. Shephard's research has shaped and transformed our understanding of the biology and health of circumpolar populations. His long-term research among the Inuit of Igloolik, Canada has provided the field of human biology with foundational insights into how human populations adapt to arctic climates, and how the transition to a market-oriented lifestyle erodes fitness and metabolic health. Shephard was the prime architect of early research done in the Canadian Arctic as part of the Human Adaptability Program (HAP) of the International Biological Programme (IBP) in the 1960s and early 1970s. After the original IBP studies, Shephard and collaborator Andris Rode continued their research in Igloolik through the early 1990s. This long-term research provided some of the first clear evidence on how the process of acculturation and lifestyle change erodes physical development and metabolic health among Indigenous populations of the north. This paper provides an overview of the major findings and insights from Roy Shephard and colleagues' research in Igloolik and highlights how these contributions are shaping ongoing research on the biology and health of circumpolar populations.