Dr. Emilee Hart received her B.S. degree in Sociology from Oklahoma State University and her M.A. degree in Anthropology from Louisiana State University where she studied comparative primate anatomy using osteological collections from natural history museums. After her time at Louisiana State University, Dr. Hart worked breeding colony management of rhesus macaques at the Tulane National Primate Research Center (now Tulane National Biomedical Research Center) from 2019 through 2020. Dr. Hart received her Ph.D. in Human Evolutionary Biology from the School of Biomedical Sciences at Kent State University in 2024. Her doctoral research focused on developmental and behavioral patterns of adrenal androgens and their role in the physiological mediation of stress and reproduction in nonhuman primates, specifically the small apes. While at Kent State University, Dr. Hart taught courses on human evolution and quantitative methods with research experience in evolutionary endocrinology and neuroscience labs, and conducting behavioral observations in zoological settings.
Dr. Hart joined Drake University as an assistant professor of Zoo and Conservation Science in the Department of Environmental Science and Sustainability in 2025. She teaches courses in animal behavior, primatology, and zoo design and operations in addition to supervising the great ape and zoo internships offered at the Blank Park Zoo and Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative.
Dr. Hart’s research primarily centers on the interface between behavior and hormones in humans and nonhuman primates and what that interface can teach us about human health and primate conservation. Additionally, Dr. Hart works to develop hormonal monitoring techniques that can be applied in field-based research and utilized for welfare monitoring of wild populations. The research in Dr. Hart’s lab is conducted in collaboration with the Blank Park Zoo and Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative among other zoological institutions outside of Iowa.
