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About Me
About Me
As a comparative psychologist I'm interested in how we, and our primate cousins, innovate and learn. I am dedicated to applying what I learn about animal cognition and behavior to enhance captive animal welfare.
I am the Director of Behavioral Management and an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Additionally, I am the Editor-in-Chief for the open-access journal Animal Behavior and Cognition and Executive Secretary for the American Society of Primatologists.
Chimpanzee Memoirs
Chimpanzee Memoirs
Edited by Stephen R. Ross and Lydia M. Hopper
What motivates someone to dedicate their lives to chimpanzees? This book brings together a range of chimpanzee experts who tell powerful personal stories about their lives and careers. It features some of the world’s preeminent primatologists—including Jane Goodall and Frans de Waal—as well as representatives of a new generation from varied backgrounds. Contributors share what inspired them, what shaped their career choices, and what motivates them to strive for solutions to the many challenges that chimpanzees face today.
Chimpanzees Memoirs was published in 2022 by Columbia University Press. You can order your copy here.
Chimpanzees in Context
Chimpanzees in Context
Edited by Lydia M. Hopper and Stephen R. Ross
After a foreword by Jane Goodall, the book features sections that examine chimpanzee life histories and developmental milestones, behavior, methods of study, animal communication, cooperation, communication, and tool use. The book ends with chapters that consider how we can apply contemporary knowledge of chimpanzees to enhance their care and conservation.
Chimpanzees in Context was published in 2020 by the University of Chicago Press. You can order your copy here.
The beautiful cover art is by Ashley Bedore.
Recent Academic Publications
Recent Academic Publications
Jimenez, I.A., Lunger, C., Crim, M.J., Primm, S.L., Mannion, A., Crilly, N.P., Hopper, L.M., Thurman, L.G., Vasquez, L.L., Brayton, C., Feng, Y., Fox, J.G., Shen, Z. & Izzi, J.M. (2026), Clinical management of Helicobacter infection in captive baboons (Papio anubis and Papio hamadryas), and isolation and molecular characterization of three novel Helicobacter species. Journal of Medical Primatology, 55, e70095.
van der Mescht, J., Inoue-Murayama, M., Suzumura, T., Hopper, L.M., Majolo, B., MacIntosh, A.J.J., Altschul, D.M., & Weiss, A. (2026). Personality, sex and age differences in wild and zoo-housed Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Animal Behaviour.
Haertel, A.J., Berns, K.E., Falkenstein, K.S.P., Shimwa, A.K., Hotchkiss, C., Hopper, L.M., Gill, L., Spray, B., Maldonado, E., Crane, M.M., Lee, G.H., Carroll, K.E., Stockinger, D.E., Roberts, J.A., Cassidy, L.C., Negron, M., Ruiz Lambides, A.V., Beisner, B.A., Ramsey, J., Cohen, J.K., Connor-Stroud, F., Taylor, J.M., Wright-McAfee, E., Gray, S., Dutton, J., Sayers, K., Church, T., Brasky, K., Tsagournos, C., Nyandwi, S., Myers, A., Barrow, J., Gao L., & Martin, L.D. (2026). A collaborative, multi-institutional growth standard for dam-reared infant 2 rhesus and pigtail macaques (Macaca mulatta and Macaca nemestrina) in research settings. American Journal of Primatology, 88, e70139.
Roach, A., Furman, S., Hadeed, J., Choo, R., Knight, E., Painter, M.C., & Hopper, L.M. (2025). When the lights go out: Studying sex differences in sleep latency, sleep quality, and social behavior in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) over a 24-hour period. American Journal of Primatology, 87(11), e70098
Hopper, L.M. (2025). Creating connection: greeting and leave-taking behavior in nonhuman primates. Evolution and Human Behavior, 46(6), 106772.
Contact me!
Contact me!
lydiahopper @ gmail.com
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