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Laura Simone Lewis, PhD
@LauraSimoneLew
Incoming Asst Prof @UCSBPsych & @UCSB_Anthro • ape social cognition • @UC_PPFP Postdoc Fellow @UCBerkeley • PhD @HarvardHEB@NSF GRFP • @DukeU alum (she/her)
Berkeley, California
Joined August 2017
Posts
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    I am absolutely elated to share that I’ll be starting as an Assistant Professor @ UC Santa Barbara with a joint appointment in @UCSBPsych and @UCSB_Anthro beginning July 2025!! I’m deeply honored and excited to join a wonderful community of colleagues & build my lab and team
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    I am officially Dr. Laura Simone Lewis!!! I just defended my PhD in @HarvardHEB, “The Cognitive Foundations of Social Relationships in Great Apes”!!! I am only the 2nd Black person to ever graduate with a PhD from my department and this moment feels so much bigger than just me.
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    As the Director of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force for my dept @HarvardHEB, I am appalled and frustrated by the transphobic and harmful remarks made by a member of my dept in this interview with Fox and Friends: video.foxnews.com/v/626558050500… #medtwitter
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    Replying to @LauraSimoneLew
    Inclusive language like “pregnant people” demonstrates respect for EVERYONE who has the ability to get pregnant, not just cis women. It is vital to teach med students gender inclusive language, as they will certainly interact with people that identify outside the gender binary
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    Replying to @LauraSimoneLew
    Let’s be clear: if you respect diverse gender identities & aim to use correct pronouns, then you would know that people with diverse genders/sexes can be pregnant incl Trans men, intersex people & gender nonconforming people. That isn't too hard for medical students to understand
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    Today as I was leaving the Zoo building where I do research with chimpanzees, a Scottish man walking with his daughter pointed at me & said “there’s one escaping”. This is what it means to be Black in BioAnth. This is what we face when we do work at home or abroad. #BiBAWorldwide
    #TheBiBACollective is everywhere! Today, we want to highlight our global community, where our work has taken us, and the memories we’ve made along the way! Tell us about your favorite international experiences! Use the hashtag #BiBAWorldwide to be featured on our page!
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    I’m super excited and honored to announce that I’ve been awarded the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with @AlisonGopnik and @JanEngelmann5 at UC Berkeley next year!!!🥳 I’ll be studying the evolution of emotion perception with chimps, bonobos, and children!
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    It's finally here! My 1st first-author article has been published!!🥳 I'm so incredibly excited (and also a lil nervous) to share my research using eye-tracking to explore biases in social attention in chimps & bonobos! Free download access with this link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1dBWL_4tk-Ukg
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    Replying to @LauraSimoneLew
    I respect Carole as a colleague & scientist. But this dangerous language perpetuates a system of discrimination against non-cis people within the med system. It directly opposes our Task Force work that aims to create a safe space for scholars of ALL gender identities and sexes.
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    Replying to @LauraSimoneLew
    Current HEB scholars & those considering joining us: please know there are many of us in the dept who honor & celebrate everyone across/outside the gender spectrum. We clearly have so much more work to do, but we are trying hard to make our dept a better/safer place for all🏳️‍⚧️💜
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    Dr. Laura Simone Lewis, Ph.D. !!! Graduating from @Harvard last week was super surreal and exciting. Infinite gratitude for my family & friends who came to celebrate with me! And a special appreciation for my parents, who made all of this possible. Mom and dad, we did it!!!🥳🥰
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    Hello community! I’m Laura Lewis, a Black and Jewish Biological Anthropologist and 5th year PhD candidate @ Harvard. I study the evolution of social cognition in great apes; I work w chimps and bonobos to explore aspects of social influence, attention, & memory #EverydayBioAnth
    Today we are asking our #BlackinBioAnth community to talk about what Biological anthropologists do through sharing your research within BioAnth. Quote retweet this post and make sure to use the hashtags #BlackinBioAnthWeek and #EverydayBioAnth
    What is BioAnth?
    What do Biological anthropologists study?
    Are you a biological anthropologist? Quote tweet us and tell us about your research! #EverydayBioAnth
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    I had such a wonderful time talking to @jvn all about great apes!!! It was so special to discuss these beautifully complex creatures that have fascinated me for over a decade. It’s an honor & privilege to study great apes, and to share what we know about them w @CuriouswithJVN 💖
    Gorillas. Orangutans. Bonobos. Chimpanzees. Humans. Can you name a more iconic Fab Five? 👀 This week, Dr. @LauraSimoneLew joins @jvn for an episode all about our beautiful primate family tree! LISTEN: apple.co/jvn 🍃
    Headshots of Jonathan and Dr. Lewis with the episode title, "Who Are The Fab Five Of The Great Ape Family?" and "Dr. Laura Simone Lewis"
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    I’m repping #primatology for my #subfieldshoutout for #BlackinBioAnthWeek! Here I am as a baby 1st year UG conducting research with ring-tailed lemurs at the @DukeLemurCenter with @rachnare. I began working with primates when I was 18 and have been obsessed with them ever since!
    Primatology is the study of non-human primates, including all aspects of their biology and ecology. Human biology is a broad area of study that looks at humans through a number of different scientific lenses. Primate Conservation aims to protect the planet's wildlife and ecosystems.  Anthropological genetics studies  human evolution and variation using DNA.
    Replying to @BlackinBioAnth
    First up we have Primatology, Primate Conservation, Anthropological Genetics and Human Biology! #SubfieldShoutout