Bridging Worlds: Human–Nonhuman Primate Connections Through Anthropology
Science, Story, and Stewardship in
Primate Conservation
About Laura
I recently earned my Ph.D. in Anthropology from Boston University, where I worked under the mentorship of Dr. Cheryl Knott in the Knott Lab. Our research centers on the health, behavior, and conservation of wild orangutans in and around Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.
As an ethnoprimatologist, my dissertation focused on the process of habituation in this orangutan population, examining the dynamic human–nonhuman primate interface. I investigated how long-term researcher presence influences orangutan behavior and physiology, and how reciprocal relationships form as orangutans and humans adapt to one another.
My work integrates theories and methods from biological and sociocultural anthropology while also drawing from environmental anthropology, the environmental humanities, science and technology studies, and human–animal studies. This interdisciplinary approach informs my commitment to research, conservation, and public engagement that bridges the natural and social sciences.
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