Dr. Hecht received her B.S. in Cognitive Science from the University of California San Diego in 2006, and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Emory University in 2013.  She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Dr. Hecht launched the Canine Brains Project while she was a Research Scientist in the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience at Georgia State University, and an Affiliated Scientist at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University.  Dr. Hecht's research focuses on neuroanatomical specializations in dogs, primates, and humans.  She has two Miniature Australian Shepherds, Lefty and Izzy, who are mostly good. 

Sophie earned her B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Georgia in 2019. She is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Sophie is broadly interested in comparative brain evolution and how artificial selection shapes the brain. Through neuroimaging and behavioral experiments, she plans to study the neural circuits that support the learning of breed-specific behaviors in working dog breeds. Sophie began working on the Canine Brains Project as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Georgia at Athens. She draws inspiration from her rescue dog Tamsin.

Jhonatan is an undergraduate research assistant at Georgia State University working alongside Dr. Erin Hecht at the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience. As a dog owner, he is interested in exploring the behavioral effects that social interactions, such as food sharing, have on human-dog relationships.  He is also involved in studying the effects that competition has on the behavior and hormones of brown capuchin monkeys with Dr. Sarah Brosnan’s CEBUS lab. Previously, Jhonatan has worked alongside Zoo Atlanta’s primate department where he assisted in the caretaking of their Bornean and Sumatran orangutans.

Olivia is a PhD student in the Cognitive Sciences program at Georgia State University working in Dr. Sarah Brosnan's lab. She is fascinated by the effects that hormones can have on behavior and cognition, specifically how the relationship between testosterone and cortisol impacts risk-taking behaviors. She aims to answer these questions using comparative approaches by studying humans, nonhuman primates, and dogs!  Before coming to GSU, Olivia worked as a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition where I investigated holistic face processing in rhesus macaques using fMRI and behavioral techniques. Before that, she studied the impact of diet on regurgitation and reingestion behaviors of gorilla and orangutan groups at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC. Olivia received my Bachelors degree in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University where she investigated the concept of identity in squirrel monkeys.

Dr. Kent is a board-certified veterinary neurologist.  He is a Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and the Small Animal Inpatient Chief in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the College of Veterinary Medicine at UGA.  He is the co-editor of The Handbook of Veterinary Neurology and Veterinary Neuroanatomy and Clinical Neurology.  In our study, Dr. Kent administers veterinary exams to ensure that dogs are safe for MRI, and also oversees the MRI scans themselves.

Lisa Reynolds is support staff at UGA.  She assists with dog behavior testing and neuroimaging.

Alexandra (Alex) Grayson is an undergraduate student researcher in the lab, and she is currently pursuing an A.B. in Molecular & Cellular Biology at Harvard University. While focused on cells in class, she is interested in all aspects of biology, including neuroscience, as it helps to explain why nature is the way it is. Outside of science, she enjoys researching health policy, playing lacrosse, cheering on University of Kentucky basketball, and FaceTiming her miniature dachshund, Oliver.

Stacy Jo '21 is a Harvard undergraduate concentrating in Human & Evolutionary Biology (Mind, Brain and Behavior Track) with a Secondary in Music. She is also a student of the Harvard-Berklee Dual Degree Program and is on her way to earning her Master's Degree in Music. Stacy hopes to bring together evolutionary biology, music and cognitive neuroscience altogether to study the ways in which our musicality may be inherited or newly formed within the human species in an evolutionary standpoint. Beyond academia, you can catch her either performing onstage, tutoring students in SAT, or repping Harvard spirit as part of the Harvard College Events Board.

Serena Fernandopulle is a Harvard College student in the class of 2023. She is interested in HEB and English, and outside the classroom she enjoys playing club soccer, hiking with her dog (a Cockapoo named Lucky), reading, and being a Junior Staffer for Harvard Model Congress. Her favorite animals include elephants, dogs, bonobos, otters, and planaria.