Dr Lydia M. Hopper
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 I am co-chair of both the American Society of Primatologists Research and Development Committee and of the joint working group of the Association of Primate Veterinarians and American Society of Primatologists.
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
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
Hopper, L.M., Allen, J.V., Huynh, V., Painter, M.C., Izzi, J., & Hutchinson, E.K. (2024). The use of guanfacine to mediate anxiety-related reactivity and reduce associated agonistic behavior in two pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina). Comparative Medicine.
Westra, E., Fitzpatrick, S., Brosnan, S.F., Gruber, T., Hobaiter, C., Hopper, L.M., Kelly, D., Krupenye, C., Luncz, L.V., Theriault, J., & Andrews, K. (2024). In search of animal normativity: a framework for studying social norms in non-human animals. Biological Reviews.
Jimenez, I.A., Craney, M.C., Painter, M.C., Burch-Strong, K.E., Plunkard, J.C.M., Villano, J.S., & Hopper, L.M. (2023). Behavioral evaluation of laboratory-housed ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) in different enclosure sizes. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 62(5), 382-394.
Haertel, A.J., Beisner, B.A., Buehler, M.S., Capuano, S., Carrol, K.E., Church, T., Cohen, J.K., Crane, M.M., Dutton, J.W., Falkenstein, K.P., Gill, L., Hopper, L.M., Hotchkiss, C.E., Lee, G.H., Malinowski, C.M., Mendoza, E., Sayers, K., Scorpio, D.G., Stockinger, D., & Taylor, J.M. (2023). The impact of housing on birth outcomes in breeding macaque groups across multiple research centers. American Journal of Primatology, 85(11), e23554.
Hopper, L.M., Allen, J.V., Painter, M.C., Koenig, K.L., Maxwell, A.R., Izzi, J.M., & Hutchinson, E.K. (2023). Strategies for the in-place retirement of surplus and former research nonhuman primates. Laboratory Animal Science Professional, 11(3), 48-50.
Krall, C., Hopper, L.M., & Hutchinson, E.K. (2023). Mice just want to have fun: playpens facilitate faster training in non-invasive techniques for improved refinement and well-being. Laboratory Animal Science Professional, 11(3), 22-24.
Contact me!
lydiahopper @ gmail.com
