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About Lori Marino, PhD

Dr. Marino is a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence, formerly on the faculty of Emory University.  She is internationally known for her work on the evolution of the brain and intelligence in dolphins and whales and comparisons to primates.  In 2001 she co-authored a ground-breaking study offering the first conclusive evidence for mirror self-recognition in bottlenose dolphins (Reiss and Marino, 2001), after which she decided against further research with captive animals.

She has published over 100 empirical and review papers on dolphin and primate brain evolution and behavior, and human-nonhuman animal relationships, including the psychological and philosophical bases of animal exploitation and, more specifically, critiques of dolphin assisted therapy and other captivity issues.

Positions

2015 - Present Content Contributor, The Animal Studies Repository
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2011 - Present Founder and Executive Director, The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy
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2011 - 2014 Senior Lecturer, Emory University ‐ Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts
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2009 - 2014 Faculty, Emory University Center for Ethics
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2010 - 2011 Senior Lecturer, Emory University ‐ Department of Psychology
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2005 - 2010 Senior Lecturer, Emory University ‐ Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program
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1997 - 2005 Lecturer, Emory University ‐ Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program
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Curriculum Vitae

Disciplines

Research Interests

Grants

2011 Comparison of Public and Scientific Concern for Hydrofracking, Factory Farming, and Marine Mammal Captivity: Is Public Concern Consistent with or Doubtful about Scientific Understandings?
SUNY College at Oneonta
Faculty Research and Creative Activity Grant
Colleague(s): Gregory Fulkerson, Brian Lowe, William Wilkerson, Brett Heindl
2009 Virtual Workshops on the Study of Intelligence in Astrobiology
NASA Astrobiology Institute
Conference and Workshop Fund Award
Colleague(s): Kathryn Denning
2008 A Virtual Resource Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Intelligent Life
NASA Astrobiology Institute
Director’s Discretionary Fund Award
Colleague(s): Kathryn Denning
2007 Systematics and evolution of living and fossil delphinidans (dolphins, porpoises, and kin)
National Science Foundation
Colleague(s): John Gatesy and Jonathan Geisler
2004 Analysis of cortical organization in dolphins
Emory University Research Committee
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Professional Service and Affiliations

Present Advisory Board, Dolphin Biology and Conservation (DBC)
Present Science Advisor, Earth in Transition
Present Advisory Board, New Horizons Message Initiative
Present Lead Scientist, The Someone Not Something Project with Farm Sanctuary
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Honors and Awards

  • International Travel Award, Institute for International Travel and Comparative Studies, Emory University
  • Animal Behavior Society Symposium Grant
  • Faculty Development Award, Emory University
  • Visiting Research Award, National Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian Institution

Education

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1995 PhD, State University of New York at Albany ‐ Biopsychology
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1989 MA, Miami University - Oxford ‐ Experimental Psychology
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1982 BA, New York University ‐ Psychology
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Links

ORCID

Recent Works (4)

Research Works (8)