Hello!
My name is Logan Savidge, I officially joined the Bales Lab in the fall of 2017, and I work with the titi monkeys. Although I did not always know I wanted to work with non-human primates (NHPs), I have long been interested in animal behavior. I have always wondered – “why?”. I wanted to know why a student would procrastinate a big assignment, why a dog would try to soothe its owner, or why a parent would put their child in danger. When I discovered neuroscience as an undergraduate at Colorado College, I found the possibility to answer some of these bewildering questions through a deeper understanding of how our brains work in general.
With my bachelor’s degree in hand I set out to explore the specific types of questions I wanted to answer. I started with a research assistant position at the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center working with Dr. Tom Finger. During my time in the Finger Lab I learned a lot about molecular neuroscience and the techniques used in this field. This experience bolstered my curiosity and helped me realize my true interest lied in behavioral neuroscience. So, off to California I went!
I started as an intern for the Bales Lab in the summer of 2016 and I never left. I now study the close bonds, called pair bonds, formed by adult titi monkeys as a comparative model for human romantic relationships. I spend my days asking, how falling in love impacts our biology, and consequently, our experience of the world around us. I design cognitive experiments that suit the species-specific needs of the titi monkeys. By observing the cognitive abilities of titi monkeys in different situations I hope to gain an understanding of the development and fluidity of neural processing in titi monkeys as they form pair bonds.
My other interests include science communication, science education, and general science outreach. If you would like to know more about my work and research interests, please feel free to email me at lesavidge@ucdavis.edu or direct message on twitter @loganesav.
Graduated 2023