Sarah is the Director of the Animal Behavior and Cognition Laboratory, an assistant professor in the Departments of Forest and Conservation Sciences and Zoology, and a member of the Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of British Columbia. Sarah earned her B.A. from Cornell University in the U.S., her Ph.D. from Michigan State University in the U.S., and conducted her postdoctoral research at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, UK. Prior to joining the University of British Columbia, Sarah was an assistant professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. Sarah investigates how cognition facilitates adaptation of wildlife to urban environments and how urbanization affects the behavior, ecology, and cognition of wildlife through her field studies of urban carnivores, especially raccoons. Sarah’s research has been published in top international journals, such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Articles about her work have appeared in many news publications, including: the New York Times, The New Scientist, the BBC, National Public Radio, and Nature News.

Outside of work Sarah spends time with her family and tries to get outdoors as much as possible. She loves to explore all of the amazing nature within and around Vancouver and particularly enjoys hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, biking, snowshoeing, and skiing.