Faculty

Joshua Plotnik, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College

ABC Program Director

Comparative Cognition for Conservation Lab

Research interests:
Convergent cognitive evolution, comparative cognition, elephant behavior and cognition, applications of animal behavior and cognition research to conservation in practice

Diana Reiss, PhDProfessor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College

m²c²– Marine Mammal Communication and Cognition

Research interests:
Comparative cognition, animal behavior and communication, marine mammal cognition

Ofer Tchernichovski, PhDProfessor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College

Laboratory of Social Learning & Cultural Evolution

Research interests:
Mechanisms of vocal learning

Thomas Preuss, PhDProfessor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College

The Preuss Lab

Research interests:
Neuroethology of escape behavior, neural decision making, neural plasticity, sensorimotor integration of biologically relevant visual and auditory inputs

Kirsty Graham, PhDAssistant Professor, Hunter College

Starting Fall 2024

Research interests:
Primate behavior and communication, evolution of gesture, comparative cognition, community science approaches

Andrea Baden, PhDAssociate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Hunter College

Primate Molecular Ecology Laboratory

Research interests:
Primate molecular ecology, life history, population genetics, conservation

Jessica Rothman, PhDProfessor, Department of Anthropology, Hunter College

Wildlife Ecology & Nutrition Project

Research interests:
How primates meet their nutritional needs through interactions with their environment and how sociality, movement, and disease intersect with nutritional ecology

Dina Lipkind, PhDAssistant Professor, Department of Biology, York College

Research interests:
Animal behavior, vocal learning, neuroethology

Jennifer Savoie, PhDDoctoral Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Hunter College
Internship Coordinator, ABC Program

Research interests:
Convergent cognitive evolution, comparative cognition, brain and behavioral lateralization

Christopher B. Braun, PhDProfessor, Department of Psychology and Associate Provost for Research, Hunter College

Laboratory of Comparative Sensory Performance

Research interests:
Sensory systems in animals, neural substrates of vibration and sound detection, sensory variation, ecology, evolution

Sarah Byosiere, PhDDirector of Canine Research and Development at Guide Dogs for the Blind

Research interests:
Behavior and cognition of domestic dogs, canids, and other companion animals

Joseph Barber, PhDAdjunct Professor, Hunter College

Research interests:
Applied animal welfare, evaluation and documentation of techniques of animal care

John Fraser, PhDPresident and CEO, New Knowledge Organization Ltd.

Research interests:
How worldviews impact learning attitudes, motivations, and the ability to develop new knowledge in free-choice settings

Donald E Moore, PhDAdjunct Professor, Hunter College
Senior Scientist, Smithsonian National Zoological Park

Expertise:
Assessment and evaluation of Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plans, sustainability and conservation efforts in zoos and in the wild

Irene Pepperberg, PhDResearch Associate

Research interests:
Animal cognition and comparative psychology, with an emphasis on avian behavior

Liv Van De Graaff, PhDAdjunct Professor, Hunter College

Institute for Compassionate Conservation

Research interests:
Conservation behavior and animal welfare. The well-being of free-living wild animals and the role individual, wild animals have in the health of their social groups and populations. The cognitive and emotional lives of farm animal species.

Stephen Zawistowski, PhDAdjunct Professor, Hunter College

Research interests:
Education, animal behavior in shelters, and animal welfare

Sheila Chase, PhDProfessor Emeritus, Hunter College

Peter Moller, PhDProfessor Emeritus, Hunter College

Research interests:
Multisensory integration, electrolocation and electrocommunication in electric fish, behavioral physiology, behavioral endocrinology

Sonia Ragir, PhDAdjunct Professor, Hunter College
Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, College of Staten Island

Research interests:
Biological anthropology, developmental psychology, cognitive science