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Dr Lori Marino, PhD

2nd December 2020

is a Comparative Neuroscientist formerly on the Faculty of Emory University in Atlanta.  She is founder and Executive Director of The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. Lori’s work focuses on the evolution of the brain and intelligence in cetaceans and other mammals, e.g. primates. She is the Science Lead for The Someone Project, a joint Farm Sanctuary-Kimmela research-based initiative documenting farmed animal cognition, emotions, and social complexity through science. She also served as the Science Director for the Nonhuman Rights Project for two years. Lori has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers, chapters, and articles on cetacean neuroanatomy and cognition, self-awareness, human-nonhuman relationships, and the impacts of captivity on animals in zoos and marine parks. In 2001, she co-authored a ground-breaking study offering the first conclusive evidence for mirror self-recognition in bottlenose dolphins, after which she chose to discontinue work with captive animals. Recently, she has authored several chapters and articles on the ethics of animal experimentation and use for entertainment, as well as on the denial of death and our relationships with other animals.