CHES graduate affiliate William Aguado successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on May 8, 2026! His dissertation, "Nutritional Ecology in Orangutans and the Evolution of Salivary Defenses in Primates," combines ecological fieldwork in the rainforests of Indonesian Borneo with laboratory analyses of rainforest plants to investigate how orangutan feeding behavior and nutrient intake vary in response to seasonal ecological changes. In parallel, his research examines the genetics of salivary proteins to better understand the evolution of dietary adaptations across primates.
Congratulations to Dr. Aguado on this outstanding achievement!