Pediatrics & Anthropology

Dr. Turke Biography

Paul received a PhD in anthropology from Northwestern University in 1985 based on work he did in Micronesia on cooperative childcare. This led him to propose that the doubling of the human lifespan compared to other apes, living and extinct, was largely driven by the elderly extending their reproductive viability through the help they provided to existing children and grandchildren. He then began to explore the mechanisms of aging, including the demise of the T-cell arm of the immune system, which nudged him down the path to medical school. He received his MD from The College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University in 1996, and completed a Pediatric Residency at The University of Michigan in 1999. He’s since been a partner at Turke and Thomashow Pediatrics in Dexter, MI.  In his spare time, he helps care for his 5 grandchildren, and he writes and lectures on evolutionary medicine.