Melissa Emery Thompson, Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
MSC01-1040, University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
memery@unm.edu

Curriculum vitae (pdf)

Integrative and comparative endocrinology of apes and humans (1999-present): my primary research focuses on developing and applying non-invasive methods for studying endocrinological markers of stress, reproductive function, and energetic condition. The goal of this research is to integrate physiological information with field observations to help answer behavioral questions, as well as to compare adaptive physiological responses between hominoid species. I have operated laboratories for hormone extraction and immunoassay at Harvard University (with CD Knott), Boston University (with MN Muller), and presently at the University of New Mexico (with MN Muller). This has included development and application of assays for a range of hormones (e.g., testosterone, estrogens, progesterone, cortisol, C-peptide, LH, DHEA) in chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos, and humans.

Kibale Chimpanzee Project (2000-present): studies of female competition and residence patterns, mating behavior, sexual coercion and other forms of aggression, feeding ecology, energetics, endocrinology, and life history. Includes primary field work conducted in 2000 and 2002-2003. Collaborators include RW Wrangham (PI), MN Muller (PI), SM Kahlenberg, IC Gilby, RM Stumpf.

Budongo Forest Project (2000-present): studies of endocrinology, fertility rates, aggression, paternity and female residence patterns in chimpanzees in western Uganda. Includes primary field work conducted between 2000 and 2004. Collaborators include K Zuberbuhler (PI), V Reynolds, K Slocombe, NE Newton-Fisher, S Townsend, Z Machanda, L Vigilant.

Gombe Stream Research Centre (2001-present): studies of endocrinology and life history patterns. Includes primary field work conducted in 2002. Collaborators include AE Pusey (PI), M Wilson, G Gobbo, JH Jones, MN Muller.

Molecular epidemiology and natural history of SIVcpz (2002-present): studies of the prevalence, genetics, and transmission patterns of the chimpanzee simian immunodeficiency virus. Collaborators include: B Hahn (PI), M Santiago, B Keele.

Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project, Gambia (2003-present): Studies of life history patterns and energetics in free-ranging rehabilitation chimpanzees. Collaborators: S Brewer-Marsden and D Marsden.

Gunung Palung Orangutan Project (2004-present): studies of reproductive and stress physiology, energetics, sexual coercion, female reproductive strategies, and reproductive development. Collaborator CD Knott (PI), RM Stumpf.

Life history patterns and reproductive ecology in wild and captive orangutans (2004-present): comparative studies of Bornean and Sumatran orangutan species across wild study sites and in captivity to understand variance in reproductive rates and relation to feeding ecology and energy balance. Collaborators include CD Knott (PI), H Anderson, L Perkins, SA Wich, C van Schaik, S Husson, H Morrogh-Bernard.

Endocrinology of maturation and developmental arrest in male orangutans (2007-present): application of both cross-sectional and longitudinal sampling to understand the predictors of male developmental age in captive orangutans, focusing particularly on variation in testosterone and cortisol. Collaborators include CD Knott, A Zhou, T Stoinski, L Mayo, C Sodaro, S Wilson, L Lawson.

Human sex differences in competition (2007-present): studies of sex differences in alliance formation, confidence, and competitive tendencies. Collaborator: Joyce Benenson (PI)

Tsimane Health and Life History Project (2008-present): studies of health and energetics impacts on variance in human reproductive aging. Collaborators include Hillard Kaplan (PI), Michael Gurven (PI), Caleb Finch, Eileen Crimmins, Jeff Winking, Martin Muller, Esther Erdei, and Daniel Rodriguez.

Primate Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Harvard University (2005-2006): stress endocrinology and discounting behavior in cotton-top tamarins. Collaborators: J Stevens (PI) and V Wobber.

Yerkes Primate Research Center Field Station (1995-1998): Development of or participation in a range of studies of captive primates, including studies of sexual swelling and ovarian function in chimpanzees (with PL Whitten), aggressive behavior and agonistic scream structure in pigtail and rhesus macaques (with H Gouzoules, B Donaghey), reproductive competition in sooty mangabeys (undergraduate thesis, advisor PL Whitten), heart rate telemetry and psychosocial stress in rhesus macaques (with F Aureli, S Preston), and egalitarianism and grooming reciprocity in a range of species (with FBM de Waal, F Aureli).

Atlantic Cetacean Research Center (1996): research assistant and naturalist for studies of marine mammal species off of the New England Coast.