Dr Sean O'Hara
| Post Nominals | BSc(Hons), M.Phil., PhD |
|---|---|
| Biography | I read Ecology and Environmental Management at Cardiff University and was awarded a First Class honours degree. From there I established myself at the University of Cambridge, first receiving an MPhil in Biological Anthropology before being awarded a joint University of Cambridge–Corpus Christi College scholarship to work toward my PhD. My doctoral research focused on male aggression and female sexuality in wild chimpanzees in Budongo Forest, Uganda. During that two-year field period I served as Assistant Director of the Budongo Forest Project. Three days after my PhD viva I took up my first academic appointment – at Durham University (evolutionary anthropology). Since then and prior to arriving in Salford I lectured at Liverpool University (evolutionary psychology). I have been an invited or plenary speaker at several events including: Makerere University Field Station meeting (Kibale, Uganda); Primate Society of Great Britain conference; British Academy conference (co-speaker); and Seattle Pacific University. Since arriving in Salford in 2010 I have pursued my interests in social and cognitive evolution in taxa as diverse as: humans and human hunter-gatherers, dholes and dogs, meerkats and mandrills, and chimpanzees and cheetahs. |
| Research Interests | Cognition, Animal behaviour, Cognitive evolution, Primates, Dogs, Bears |
| Teaching and Learning | I lead several module for Wildlife Conservation; Zoology; and Psychology students. At Level 4 I lead Introduction to Animal Behaviour. At Level 5 I lead Primate Behaviour & Conservation and Wildlife Behavioural Ecology; while at Level 6 I coordinate Animal Cognition & Social Complexity and Tropical Ecology & Conservation. I am, additionally, the programme leader responsible for our exchange students with Otterbein University, USA. |