Being a Primate, Becoming a Primatologist with Dr. Elisabetta Visalberghi

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In this installment of The PrimateCast we continue with our International Primatology Lecture Series: Past, Present and Future Perspectives of the Field.
The IPLS is dedicated to providing origin stories about experienced researchers of primatology and related fields, through lectures delivered by those very individuals. The lectures are conducted via Zoom within our CICASP Seminar in Science Communication for graduate students of our program, but we decided to release the audio right here on The PrimateCast.
Unlike most academic lectures, which are usually focused on testing scientific hypotheses, this series is designed to offer a feel for how one becomes a professional in the field of primatology. In a way, we might think of it as a career primer for young primatologists just starting their own journeys into the nether regions of Academia. At the same time, anyone might enjoy the stories told of big dreams, exotic locations and species, and the humanity inherent in forging a new path in life and in work.
For anyone interested in viewing the video versions of these lectures, head over to CICASP's YouTube channel, where you can also watch them live as we stream our Zoom feeds there.
The 5th podcast in our IPL series featured Dr. Elisabetta Visalberghi, who spoke to us back on October 13, 2021.
Dr. Visalberghi was the Research Director at the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technologies, part of the National Research Council of Italy, where she continues to act as Associate Research Scientist.
She is an author of around 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and cowrote The Complete Capuchin: The Biology of the Genus Cebus (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Her research has focused on the behavior and cognition of wild and captive primates, especially capuchin monkeys.
She is probably best known for her work on cognition and social learning in capuchins, and especially as they relate to the amazing use of hammer-and-anvil stone tools by capuchins to crack open nuts
In the podcast, Dr. Visalberghi runs through her background and how she got into primatology, highlighting the importance of serendipity in that process. The second half of her talk details her work on capuchin tool use and social learning.
To learn more about her work, visit her web page and the EthoCebus Project website.

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The PrimateCast is hosted and produced by Andrew MacIntosh. Artwork by Chris Martin. Music by Andre Goncalves. Credits by Kasia Majewski.

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