Susan Alberts | |
---|---|
Education | Reed College UCLA |
Alma mater | University of Chicago |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Primatology |
Institutions | Duke University Amboseli Baboon Research Project |
Susan C. Alberts is an American primatologist, anthropologist, and biologist who is the current Chair of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University;[1] previously, she served as a Bass fellow and the Robert F. Durden Professor of Biology at Duke.[2] She currently co-directs the Amboseli Baboon Research Project with Jeanne Altmann of Princeton University.[2] Her research broadly studies how animal behavior evolved in mammals, with a specific focus on the social behavior, demography, and genetics of the yellow baboon, although some of her work has included the African elephant.[2] She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014, won the Cozzarelli Prize of the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, and was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 2019.[1][3]
Alberts received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Reed College in 1983, and went on to earn a Master of Arts in Biology from University of California, Los Angeles in 1987.[1][4] She earned her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution at University of Chicago in 1992 for her work with her advisor, Jeanne Altmann.[1][4] Her dissertation examined the maturation and dispersal of male baboons.[5] She pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago as an NIH Fellow, and was a Junior Fellow at Harvard University, and a Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe. She has been on the faculty at Duke since 1998.[6]
Alberts' research focuses on the interplay between environment, genetics, and behavior.[2] She has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in the fields of anthropology, genetics, endocrinology, biology, and primatology.[7] Early in her career, her research focused largely on the behavior of male baboons through dispersal, mate guarding, social rank within the group,[7] while later in her research career, she expanded her inquiry to include life history, epigenetics, endocrinology, and mating systems of both sexes.[7] Notably, her work has found links between longevity and social relationships within baboon groups, with cohesive group-living having benefits for surviving environmental stresses.[8] Her most recent work focuses on the social dimensions of aging [9] and how early-life adversity affects behavior,[10] body size and immune function[11]
Alberts has also served as an editor for numerous peer-reviewed journals in a variety of fields, including Behavioral Ecology (journal), the American Journal of Primatology, and PeerJ.[1] In addition, she serves as a referee for a variety of journals and grant-funding organizations, including the Society for the Study of Evolution, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, PNAS, Behaviour, and the National Science Foundation.[1]
Awards include:[1]
Fellowships:[1]