CHES Graduate Affiliate
- Natalie Robinson
- Advisor: Dr. Erin Vogel
- Focus Area: Non-Human Primates
- Email: natalie.robinson@rutgers.edu
- ACADEMIC BIOGRAPHY:
I received my B.A. in Anthropology from Boston University in 2018, graduating magna cum laude with Honors in the major. During my undergraduate years I conducted research on orangutan nutrition, analyzing the concentration of free simple sugars in orangutan foods. From 2018 – 2019 I worked as a research assistant in Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia, where I supported a long-term research program and conducted an individual project on orangutan intestinal parasites. From 2019 - 2023 I worked as the Program and Development Coordinator for the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program, which deepened my passion for community-led, landscape-level conservation and fieldwork in Indonesian Borneo! I began at Rutgers in September 2023.
- CURRENT PROJECTS:
At Rutgers I plan to continue my research at both Gunung Palung and the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station, which is co-directed by my advisor, Dr. Erin Vogel. I aim to study the ways in which orangutan physiology varies across ecological conditions, and how this may impact reproductive ecology, and ultimately, the conservation of this critically endangered species.
- RESEARCH INTERESTS:
I am broadly interested in the intersection of primate energetics, nutrition and reproduction. Specific research interests include: primates, orangutans, reproductive ecology, nutrition and energetics, conservation, science communication and outreach.
