Associate Professor David Coall is a Biological Anthropologist (PhD 2005) in the School of Human Sciences at The University of Western Australia. David was recently honoured with a Visiting Professorship (2021-2025) of Evolutionary Social Science at the University of Turku, Finland as part of the INVEST (Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State) Research Flagship Centre (https://invest.utu.fi/). David completed his PhD in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at the University of Western Australia and his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Centre for Cognitive and Decision Sciences at The University of Basel, Switzerland.  In 2009 David returned to Australia working as a Research Fellow in the School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences (UWA). Before starting his current position at UWA, David was a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science at Edith Cowan University.

Coall has developed expertise in both theoretical and applied life-course research through local and international partnerships. His research focuses on applying evolutionary theory to understanding the complex inter-generational influences on health and behaviour within families. He has authored publications across the fields of biological anthropology, evolutionary anthropology, paediatrics, evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, mental health, sociology, and maternal and child health.  He has two main lines of research, one exploring the impact the childhood environment has on subsequent growth, development and reproduction and the second examines the roles grandparents play in families and its health consequences. His theoretical work is now being applied to practical situations where grandparents are raising their own grandchildren. This work is impacting government policy at both state and federal levels and is now being translated into support services for people in low resource family situations.