Dr. Maria Botero is a Professor in the Psychology & Philosophy Department at SHSU. As evident in her publications and research grants, her academic research focuses on animal cognition and ethics. The time she spent at Gombe National Park, Tanzania (Africa), observing chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) from the Kasekela community, shaped the way she views the primate mind, communication in human and non-human animals, and the methods used to study social cognition. Most recently she has developed a dog cognition lab to study the relationship between anxiety and the performance of cognitive tasks in dogs.