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Jenny Tung

Visiting Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Evolutionary Anthropology
Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708
08 Bio Sci, Durham, NC 27708

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Visiting Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology · 2024 - Present Evolutionary Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Professor of Biology · 2018 - Present Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
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
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences · 2012 - Present Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers
Affiliate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2014 - Present Duke Science & Society, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

In the News


Published May 3, 2024
Five Duke Faculty Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Published August 2, 2022
These Baboons Borrowed a Third of Their Genes From Their Cousins
Published April 6, 2021
A Male Baboon’s Dominance Gives Him Babies, but Costs Him Years

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Recent Publications


Reevaluating the relationship between female sociality and infant survival in wild baboons.

Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · May 2025 Over the past few decades, studies have provided strong evidence that the robust links between the social environment, health, and survival found in humans also extend to nonhuman social animals. A number of these studies emphasize the early life origins o ... Full text Cite

Enhancing Student Comprehension of Paternity Assignment in Molecular Primatology: A Pilot Study Using a Shiny Web Application in Kenya.

Journal Article American journal of primatology · March 2025 Kinship is a major determinant of affiliative and mating behavior in primates. In field studies, identifying kin typically relies in part on genetic analysis, especially for discriminating paternal relationships. Such analyses assume knowledge of Mendelian ... Full text Cite

Shared environments complicate the use of strain-resolved metagenomics to infer microbiome transmission.

Journal Article Microbiome · February 2025 BackgroundIn humans and other social animals, social partners have more similar microbiomes than expected by chance, suggesting that social contact transfers microorganisms. Yet, social microbiome transmission can be difficult to identify based on ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Gene regulation and social relationships across the life course in a nonhuman primate model

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2021 - 2026

Behavior and Physiology in Aging

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2015 - 2025

Research Network on Animal Models to Understand Social Dimensions of Aging

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2020 - 2025

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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2010 Ph.D.

External Links


Tung Lab Website