Meet the Team

Current Lab Members

Alumni

Co-Investigators

Bianca

Bianca is Laurel’s rescue pup, part Great Pyrenees, part English Setter, all goofball. Bianca is squirrel-detail oriented, and has given many local talks, including “There’s a bird in the tree!” and “Where did the chipmunk go?" She is smart enough to cheat on her cognitive puzzle toys, but her own sneezes scare her on occasion. She also loves cheese.
Monroe

A photo this fierce needs no bio.
Ziggy & Winston

Ziggy (bottom left) and Winston (top right) are best friends and longtime scientific collaborators. They often invite their human friend, Emma, onto their projects. Their research, inspired in part by the popular television show Tom and Jerry, focuses on instigating wrestling matches with the other while maintaining the outward appearance of innocence. They are also both experts in “Zoomies” (not to be confused with Zoom) and sitting on top of people at inconvenient times but running away the second that individual moves even a millimeter.
Matilda (Tilly)

Matilda (Tilly) is a world traveler - she lived in an animal shelter in one state and a cat cafe in another before finally moving in with Cassandra in 2022. Tilly loves bird- and people-watching through the window and prefers spinach and cat grass to regular treats. Her hobbies include unraveling toilet paper in the middle of the night, hiding her toys under the radiator, and occasionally allowing herself to enjoy being pet.

Co-Investigator Alumni

Kodi

Kodi is a beagle-shepherd mix who graduated in 2019 with her B.S. (Best Service) in Dog. She currently works as a service dog alongside her handler, Alexa. Her research interests include olfactory perception and canine experiences of food consumption. When she is not working (and often when she is), she enjoys sniffing any and all scents, eating, and - most importantly - napping.

Laurel Joy Gabard-Durnam, Ph.D.