Co-Director of Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project to Speak March 5
Clarke University is excited to welcome Corrina Most, Ph.D. to campus for the Mary Murphy, BVM, Endowed Lecture on Thursday, March 5. The lecture entitled, “The Importance of Being Social: Insights from Olive Baboons,” is free and open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. in Alumnae Lecture Hall.
In her talk, Dr. Most will call on her extensive research as a faculty member in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University, and as co-Director of the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project in Kenya. Her presentation will discuss how infant baboons build relationships, adapt to their environment, and what studying wildlife in human-altered landscapes can teach us about conservation. The talk will conclude with a question and answer session.
From a broader research perspective, Dr. Most is interested in the origins, evolution, and development of social behavior, and her approach is interdisciplinary, combining theories and methods from anthropology, biology, cognitive sciences, and psychology.
This interdisciplinary approach aligns well with the goals of The Mary Murphy, BVM, Endowed Lecture, which seeks to increase the exposure of Clarke University students and the Dubuque community to scientific research.
“Students in the Natural Sciences Department have a wide variety of interests when it comes to Biology. Each year we try to find a unique area of biological study and cutting-edge research that students might not experience here at Clarke University,” said Dr. Melissa DeMotta, Professor of Biology. “Corrina Most’s research on social behaviors in olive baboons through her work at the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project provides students with an opportunity to learn more about the evolution of social behaviors in a non-human species and more about the process of field research. Cutting-edge research does not have to be high-tech.”
About the Mary Murphy, BVM, Endowed Lecture Series
The Mary Murphy, BVM, Endowed Lecture was established to invite noted scientists to present an annual lecture in biology at Clarke. The purpose of the lecture is to increase the exposure of Clarke University science majors to cutting-edge research and to provide science and health professional majors with insights into the practical application of scientific research in post-graduate careers. At the same time, it is open to members of the greater Dubuque community as an opportunity to learn more about current advances in basic science and medical research. This lecture series continues to be supported by the family of Mary Murphy, BVM, Ph.D. and additional donors.