In 2008 Dr. Thayer graduated from Dartmouth College Department of Anthropology with an A.B. in Anthropology and Biology. She continued her studies at Northwestern University earning a M.A. in Biological Anthropology in 2010 and earning her PhD in Biological Anthropology in 2013. Dr. Thayer is Lakota. Her research addresses how early environmental experience influences biology and health in later life, with a particular focus on understanding these relationships within socially disadvantaged populations.