Jennifer E. Smith (biologist)

[1] Previously, she was an associate professor and chair of biology at Mills College,[2] in Oakland, California, prior to its merger with Northeastern University.

Her research focuses primarily on the social lives of mammals based on insights gained from long-term studies on marked individuals and comparative approaches.

She went on to complete dual PhDs in zoology and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) Program at Michigan State University.

Her dissertation research with Kay E. Holekamp[3] involved extensive fieldwork in Kenya and focused on the evolutionary and ecological forces shaping patterns of cooperation among spotted hyenas[4] Before joining the faculty at Mills College, she was an American Association of University Women postdoctoral fellow with Daniel T. Blumstein at the department of ecology and evolutionary biology,[5] as well as in the Institute for Society and Genetics,[6] at the University of California, Los Angeles.

[15] This project on marked individual ground squirrels is revealing new insights into the nexus among behavioral type (i.e., personality traits),[16] stress physiology, parasite loads, microbial diversity, and social networks in a changing world.