Dr. Susan C. Alberts

Class of 2024-25

Robert F. Durden Distinguished Professor of Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology
Department of Biology
Dean of Natural Sciences
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Duke University

Susan C. Alberts is renowned for her pioneering research in the behavior, ecology, physiology and genetics of wild populations of large mammals.

She directs one of the longest-running studies of wild primates globally: a 50-plus year study of baboons in the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya. This program’s significance is underscored by the numerous awards and honors received by its directors, including Alberts, Elizabeth Archie, Jenny Tung and former director Jeanne Altmann.

Alberts received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences as well as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Honors include the BBVA Frontiers of Science Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Medical and Biological Sciences Alumni Association at the University of Chicago, the Sewall Wright Award from the American Society of Naturalists and the Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

She has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and serves as a handling editor for PNAS manuscripts.

Alberts will collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences.