Nga Nguyen, Ph.D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow baboon mother and infant at Amboseli, KenyaI was born in Sai gon, Viet Nam in 1976 and immigrated with my family to the US in 1982. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and in 2000 received my bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Anthropology from Barnard College, a women’s college affiliated with Columbia University. In 2006, I earned my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University where I studied under the supervision of Dr. Jeanne Altmann. For my Ph.D., I lived in a tented camp at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro for a year and a half, studying the causes and consequences of variation in mothering behavior in the wild yellow baboons (Papio cynocehalus) at Amboseli, Kenya. The Amboseli population of baboons has been the subject of intensive research by Dr. Jeanne Altmann and her colleagues for nearly four decades and much is known about their behavior, ecology, physiology, and population genetics. Before joining the faculty at CSUF, I served as the Director of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Wildlife Endocrinology Laboratory where I oversaw a research program that examined hormone-behavior relationships as a means of enhancing the reproduction and welfare of wildlife living in zoos and in the wild.  

 

 
Geladas males fighting at Guassa, EthiopiaCurrently, I am investigating the behavioral endocrinology, ecology and conservation biology of gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) at Guassa, Ethiopia in collaboration with Dr. Peter Fashing. Geladas are unique among primates yet little is known of their conservation status, ecology, behavior, or physiology. In addition, my study site – Guassa – is an unusually ecologically pristine alpine grassland in north-central Ethiopia that has been conserved by one of the few surviving ancient indigenous conservation initiatives on the African continent. My current research at Guassa focuses (a) on the reproductive and stress physiology of male and female geladas, (b) the adaptive benefits and determinants of male-female and female-female bonds in geladas, and (c) the social, demographic and ecological factors that influence the outcome of aggressive encounters between gelada social units. For more information about my research on geladas visit the Guassa Gelada Research Project website. I welcome undergraduate and graduate student participation and collaboration on my research in primate behavioral ecology and endocrinology.