RESEARCH FACULTY
Jeffrey R. Alberts (Psychological and Brain Sciences)
Dr. Alberts studies behavioral development and parental care in rodents. Currently, he is studying sensory capabilities of young rats, the transition from suckling to independent feeding, and parent/offspring interactions.
Colin Allen (History & Philosophy of Science, Cognitive Science)
Dr. Allen applies philosophical approaches to the evolutionary study of animal behavior and cognition (cognitive ethology). His research focuses on the design and interpretation of experiments testing mental processes.
Heather B. Bradshaw (Psychological and Brain Sciences, The Kinsey Institute)
Dr. Bradshaw studies the The effects of endogenous cannabinoids on uterine and vaginal neurophysiology as well as the loss of regulation due to chronic pain.
Gregory E. Demas (Biology, Neural Science)
Dr. Demas studies the neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms underlying behavior, including the role of the nervous system and the hormone leptin in mediating immune responses, the effects of sickness on food-related behavior, and the neuroendocrine bases of aggression in Siberian hamsters.
Jim Goodson (Biology)
Dr. Goodson studies the neural and neuroendocrine mechanisms of social behavior, comparative neuroanatomy and evolution of avian sociality
Kevin D. Hunt (Anthropology)
Dr. Hunt studies social organization, feeding behavior and functional anatomy of chimpanzees. His lab attempts to understand how these factors impact early human evolution, including the origins of bipedalism.
Laura Hurley (Biology, Neural Science)
Dr. Hurley is interested in the interaction between behavior and brain function. Her lab studies the effects of serotonin, a neuromodulator which varies with mood (depression, appetite), on the auditory abilities of echolocating bats.
Ellen D. Ketterson (Biology, Gender Studies)
Dr. Ketterson studies the physiological underpinnings of evolutionary trade-offs in reproductive behavior and migration in birds. She uses hormonal manipulations in field and lab to understand the adaptive significance and ramifications of courtship, aggression and parental care.
Curtis M. Lively (Biology)
Dr. Lively studies the ecological, genetic and behavioral factors underlying the evolution and maintenance of sexual reproduction. His lab focuses on a NewZealand snail which has both asexual and sexual females.
Ken Mackie (Psychological and Brain Sciences & Neuroscience)
Dr. Mackie's research program focuses on cannabinoid receptors, the cell surface receptors responsible for most of the psychoactive and therapeutic actions of cannibis.
Emília P. Martins (Biology)
Dr. Martins studies the evolution of communication, and how short-term forces (e.g., genetics, learning, social context) lead to species differences. In addition to field and lab research on lizards and fish, her lab develops mathematical and computer approaches to studying behavior and evolution.
Michael P. Muehlenbein (Anthropology)
Dr. Muehlenbein's research interests are focused primarily on the biology and ecology of infectious disease in human and non-human primates, including physiological adaptations to disease, trade-offs with reproduction, and environmental impact on disease transmission.
George V. Rebec ( Psychological & Brain Sciences , Neural Science)
Dr. Rebec studies neurochemical correlates of behavior. His research explores the neural mechanisms underlying drug abuse, including the behavioral effects of stimulants and neuroleptic drugs and the neural dysfunction associated with Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.
Troy G. Smith (Biology, Neural Science)
Dr. Smith studies the neuroendocrine control of sex differences. His lab elucidates the mechanisms underlying sexual differentiation and the production of sexually-dimorphic communication signals by weakly electric fish.
William D. Timberlake ( Psychological & Brain Sciences )
Dr. Timberlake studies animal behavior and learning theory, including the ethological analysis of learning; circadian and ultradian rhythms; time horizons and regulatory processes in operant responding and ingestion.
Cara Wellman (Psychological and Brain Sciences & Program in Neuroscience)
Dr. Wellman studies the neurobiology of aging and stress, two critical variables in the development and expression of behavioral pathology.
Meredith West (Psychology and Brain Sciences/Biology)
Dr. West studies the development of avian vocal communication and social competence as well as prelinguistic behavior in human infants.
Virginia Vitzthum (Anthropology)
Dr. Vitzthum studies variation in human female reproductive function. Students working with Dr. Vitzthum may be mentored also by researchers in the Kinsey Institute.
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