https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1313-488X
Overview
Research in the Alberts Lab investigates the evolution of social behavior, particularly in mammals, with a specific focus on the social behavior, demography, life history, and behavioral endocrinology of wild primates. Our main study system is the baboon population in Amboseli, Kenya, one of the longest-running studies of wild primates in the world, ongoing since 1971.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Robert F. Durden Distinguished Professor of Biology
·
2015 - Present
Biology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Biology
·
2009 - Present
Biology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
·
2009 - Present
Evolutionary Anthropology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2009 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Population Research Center
·
2010 - Present
Duke Population Research Center,
Duke Population Research Institute
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Center for Population Health & Aging
·
2011 - Present
Center for Population Health & Aging,
Duke Population Research Institute
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
·
2017 - Present
Duke Science & Society,
University Initiatives & Academic Support Units
Bass Fellow
·
2012 - Present
Biology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Recent Publications
Disparate social structures are underpinned by distinct social rules across a primate radiation.
Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · May 2026 Over six decades of research on wild baboons and their close relatives (collectively, the African papionins) have uncovered substantial variation in their behavior and social systems. While most papionins form discrete social groups (single-level societies ... Full text CiteDemographic, behavioral, and ecological data from a long-term field study of wild baboons in Amboseli, Kenya.
Journal Article Scientific data · March 2026 Long-term data sets on individually recognized animals and their environments are critical to understanding animal behavior, evolution, and ecology. However, they are resource- and time-intensive and seldom made publicly available. The Amboseli Baboon Rese ... Full text CiteAdmixture influences the genetic architecture of DNA methylation in a wild primate hybrid zone.
Journal Article Genome biology · February 2026 BackgroundHybrid zones play a central role in evolutionary biology because they serve as natural laboratories for studying how traits and taxa diverge. Changes in gene regulation make important contributions to this process. However, the degree to ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Developing insertable cardiac monitors to assess social and environmental effects on the autonomic stress response in a nonhuman primate model of aging
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Notre Dame · 2022 - 2027Inferring Causal Links Underlying the Relationship Between Longevity and Sociality
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by L.S.B. Leakey Foundation · 2026 - 2027Gene regulation and social relationships across the life course in a nonhuman primate model
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2021 - 2027View All Grants
Education
The University of Chicago ·
1992
Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles ·
1987
M.A.
Reed College ·
1983
B.A.