Samuel Pavard is a Professor of Eco-anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. He is a demographer with broad interests in understanding the biological, environmental, cultural and social determinants of ageing and longevity in humans and, in particular, investigating the joint evolution of actuarial and reproductive senescence with cognitive and social capabilities in our species. His is currently investigates the role played by evolutionary trade-offs between mortality components in shaping mortality at old ages, in mammals in general and in humans in particular.