Dr. French, Varner professor of psychology and biology at UNO, studied psychology as an undergraduate at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He then recieved his Master's of Arts degree in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1982 he recieved his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison under Professor Charles T. Snowdon. Dr. French founded the Callitrichid Research Center in 1983 and has been the director ever since. He is active in a number national organizations, including the National Institutes of Heatlth (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a reviewer and as former President of the American Society of Primatologists (ASP), as well as many other organizations.

For a complete list of Dr. French's publications, awards, honors, grants and positions held, along with contact information, click here.

Heather received her Bachelor's of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Tenessee at Martin and a Master's of Science in Conservation Biology from UNO. She has been the Animal Care Coordinator at the CRC since 2001. Heather is also the volunteer coordinator for undergraduate students. Her experience includes 22 years working with small animals along with 6 years experience with large animals, 22 years of lab experience, 3 years of veterinary clinic experience, and 5 years as an adjunct instructor in the biological and conservation fields. Heather has been a part of several research teams and has delivered many presentations on animal conservation and husbandry.

For a complete list of Heather's publications and presentations, click here.

Dongren's research interests include molecular mechanisms of human diseases and animal models of human diseases. His earlier work included identifying the causative mutation contributing to economically important traits in farm animals by classical genetic approaches, production of transgenic pigs by somatic cell nuclear transfer, identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barett's esophagus, and study of behavioral genetics in domestic animals.

For a complete list of Dongren's publications and presentations, click here.