Lynne Isbell, professor and chair of the department of anthropology in the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis, has been named president-elect of the American Society of Primatologists. She will serve in this role for two years, then become president of the organization in 2020. The society has nearly 400 members and aims to promote and encourage research regarding primates.
Professor Isbell studies the behavior, ecology, and evolutionary history of primates. She researches primate socio-ecology and any topic that relates to how ecological conditions influence social behavior and organization. She has conducted field-work in Uganda, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dr. Isbell holds a bachelor’s degree in ethology from the Johnston College of the University of Redlands in California and a Ph.D. in animal behavior from the University of California, Davis. She is the author of The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent: Why We See So Well (Harvard University Press, 2009).