SEEHB 2025
Members of the APE Lab attended the 7th Annual South Eastern Evolution & Behavior Meeting this weekend! The day included podium presentations from Giuliana Centofanti, Grace Cayless, and Arianna Mistry, as well as a posters by Federico Sánchez Vargas and Amber Shaw, and Dr. Marcela Benítez served on the steering committee.
APE Lab New Year
Wishing all a Happy New Year! We’re excited to be celebrating a great year in the APE Lab and are looking forward to 2025.
Emotions in Animals
Congrats to Dr. Marcela Benítez on a new publication! Check out this press release to see how researchers are thinking about animal emotions and consciousness.
https://news.emory.edu/features/2024/11/esc_animal_emotions_13-11-2024/index.html
APE Lab Halloween
Happy Halloween! Thanks to SoCap Graduate Student Federico Sánchez Vargas for carving this impressive capuchin pumpkin.
ASP Conference
Many of our APE Lab members presented their work at the 46th Annual American Society of Primatologists Conference (ASP) this September!
SURE Fellowship
APE Lab Undergraduate Grace Cayless gave a final presentation from her Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Fellowship work this summer.
Taboga Field Work
Dr. Marcela Benítez and SoCap Graduate Students Nicole Furgala and Federico Sánchez Vargas spent their summer at the Taboga forest reserve of Costa Rica studying wild white-faced capuchins.
APE LAB AT ABS
In March, Dr. Gita Gnanadesikan and Sarah Kovalaskas both gave presentations at the 2024 Animal Behavior Society (ABS) conference.
Capuchin Artwork
Sasha Collins was working with the SoCap Lab this semester and created this art piece on social learning in capuchins. Thanks Sasha!
ALLEE COMPETITION FINALIST
APE Lab Postdoc Gita Gnanadesikan was selected as a finalist in the Allee Competition and will giving her presentation on Characterizing the Heritability of Cognitive and Behavioral Traits Across Development in Domestic Dogs at the ABS 2024 Conference in June.
End of Year Celebration
Members of the APE Lab celebrated the end of the year with a lab dinner at Ladybird on the Atlanta Beltline.
GraduatinG Seniors
In May, APE Lab seniors Elizabeth Whiteside, Samantha Lai, and Emi Fernandez graduated from Emory with their Bachelor’s degrees. We’ll miss them all, but we’re so excited to see what they do next!
NSERC Fellowship
SoCaP Graduate Student Nicole Furgala was awarded an NSERC Fellowship for her project on understanding ToM capabilities in captive and wild capuchins. Congrats Nicole!
Ruppenthal Student Travel Award
SoCap Graduate Student Federico Sánchez Vargas was recently awarded a Ruppenthal Student Travel Award to attend the American Society of Primatology meetings in September. Congrats Fede!
Socap Honors Thesis
SoCaP Senior Elizabeth Whiteside earned Highest Honors for her thesis titled: “Uncovering Menopause in Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus apella): Analyzing the Relationship between Estradiol, Aging, and Behavioral Estrus in a Captive Population.” Congrats Elizabeth!
NSF GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
SoCap Graduate Student Evan Cunningham was recently awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to investigate innovation, behavioral flexibility, and social learning in wild capuchins. Congrats Evan!
Visiting Lecturer
Dr. Emily Wroblewski, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Washington University, visited the APE Lab and gave a fantastic guest lecture on MHC Immunogenetic Responses to Endemic Malaria Infection in Humans, Bonobos, and Chimpanzees.
SOLAR ECLIPSE
On April 8th, members of the APE Lab gathered to watch the 2024 Solar Eclipse!
APE Lab at AABA
In March, Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf and Evan Cunningham both gave presentations at the 93rd Annual American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) meeting.
APE Lab At SEEHB
Members of the APE Lab excelled at the 6th Annual South Eastern Evolution & Behavior Meeting this fall! The day included talks from Dr. Gita Gnanadesikan, Evan Cunningham, and Dr. Jessica Deere, as well as a poster session with projects by Nicole Furgala, Bre Myers, and Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf. Dr. Marcela Benitez and Nicole Furgala also served on the 2023 steering committee.
2023 ANIMAL BEHAVIOR SOCIETY FELLOW
Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf has been elected as a 2023 Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society. Congratulations!
FIRST Postdoctoral Fellowship
Gitanjali Gnanadesikan was awarded a FIRST Postdoctoral Fellowship and will be joining the SoCaP Lab in Fall 2023. Congrats and welcome Gita!
Incoming Graduate Student Cohort
So happy to welcome an incoming cohort of grad students to the APE Lab. Welcome Federico Sanchez Varga, Giuliana Centofanti, and Amber Shaw!
Anthropology Outstanding Junior Award
SoCaP Junior Elizabeth Whiteside was selected for this year’s Anthropology Outstanding Junior Award. Congrats Elizabeth!
SoCaP Honors Thesis
SoCaP Senior Atlas Moss earned highest Honors for their thesis titled Thesis titled: Vocal Recognition and Social Knowledge in captive Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus apella). Congrats Atlas!
New Publication in Nature
New publication alert from the GAB lab! Widespread extinctions of co-diversified primate gut bacterial symbionts from humans: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-023-01388-w.
Emory & GA Tech AI Humanity Grant
Dr. Benítez was awarded an inaugural Emory & GA Tech AI Humanity grant with Dr. Jacob Abernethy to develop a smart computer testing system for studying cognition in wild capuchins. Congrats!
NSF Dissertation Grant
SoCaP Grad Student Sarah Kovalaskas received an NSF Doctoral Improve Grant for her dissertation research on the effect of intergroup competition on affiliation, oxytocin, and group cohesion in these wild white-faced capuchin monkeys. Congrats Sarah!