Dr. Francine Dolins—Profile

Francine Dolins has her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology and Behavioral Primatology from the University of Stirling (Scotland), and a BSc (honors) in Biology/Behavioral Ecology from the University of Sussex (England). Her research interests span animal cognition, ecology, and the evolutionary foundations of behavior. A main focus of her research investigates spatial cognition and decision-making underlying navigational behavior in non-human and human primates.

Francine studies the behavioral ecology and cognitive processes of non-human primates under free-ranging conditions in the field and experimentally in the laboratory. Her most recent field research is on lemurs in Madagascar in addition to studies of New World monkeys in Costa Rica and Peru.

In her experimental research, Francine collaborates with scientists from Georgia State University, University of Oxford, The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and The University of Michigan-Dearborn. In addition, she works in collaboration with an international group of scientists dedicated to conservation through education from the University of Sussex (UK), University of Antanarivo (Madagascar) and Montclair State University. She has organized a number of workshops and conferences promoting conservation. Animal welfare and in particular providing better welfare for captive primates has been a long-running interest.

Francine is presently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at The University of Michigan-Dearborn in the Department of Behavioral Sciences. She teaches courses on Animal Behavior, Animal Intelligence and Experimental Psychology and supervises student research.


Contact Details:
Francine Leigh Dolins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Department of Behavioral Sciences
College of Arts, Sciences & Letters
University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, Michigan 48128 USA

tel. 313-593-5377
email: fdolins@umich.edu