People

Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeff Stevens

E-mail: jeffrey.r.stevens@protonmail.com

Phone: +1 402 472 3721

Dr. Stevens is the director of the Canine Cognition and Human Interaction Lab. He received his Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Minnesota in 2002. He then spent four years as a Ruth L. Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. From 2006-2011, he held a research scientist position in the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.

Dr. Stevens is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and is a resident faculty member in the Center for Brain, Biology & Behavior. He was founding editor-in-chief of Frontiers in Comparative Psychology from 2010-2017. Dr. Stevens’ research integrates perspectives from biology, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and economics to understanding canine cognition and the dog-human bond. He teaches courses on Evolution, Behavior and Society; Controversial Issues in Psychology; the Psychology of Decision Making; and Data Science and Visualization in R.

Curriculum vitae (HTML)

Curriculum vitae (PDF)

Graduate Students

Anwyn Gatesy-Davis

Anwyn Gatesy-Davis

Anwyn is a Ph.D. student who earned their B.A. in Psychology and Animal Behavior from Hampshire College in 2020. Their senior thesis was a study on dogs’ ability to follow human pointing gestures and compared the point-following abilities of herding breeds to that of non-herding breeds. After graduating, Anwyn worked as a lab manager for Dr. Daphna Buchsbaum’s Computational Cognitive Development Lab and Brown Dog Lab at Brown University. Anwyn is interested in how our long history of breeding dogs to help us on farms has shaped the behavior and cognition of those dogs.

Undergraduate Students

Makenna Bell

Makenna Bell

Makenna is pursuing a degree in Veterinary and Biomedical Science on the Pre-Vet track with a passion for small and exotic animals. She hopes to continue her education and attend veterinary school in the future. She has previous experience working in a vet clinic, volunteering at the animal shelter, and working with kids. She is particularly drawn to the connection between humans and animals and is excited to contribute to the amazing studies done at CCHIL!

Kmila Benitez

Kmila Benitez

Kmila is an Animal Science major on the Pre-Vet track. She is passionate about animals, but also the people that come with them. She has dreamed of working with animals her entire life and believes that veterinary medicine is just as much about helping people as it is about helping their animals. She frequently volunteers at the shelter and has deep love and respect for animals, especially dogs. She is excited to be part of the CCHIL lab and to contribute to ongoing studies.

Susannah Couture

Susannah Couture

Susannah is pursuing a dual major in Biological Sciences and Psychology at UNL. She aspires to go to graduate school to become a researcher and hopes to add to the scientific world with her interest in animal behavior. She learned about the lab after her dog, Bean, was a participant, and after looking through previous research, was interested in what the lab was doing. She is now excited to contribute to the amazing studies.

Oliver Johnson

Oliver Johnson

Oliver is from La Vista, Nebraska and is currently studying Animal Science while balancing work and volunteering. He is passionate about animals and has experience volunteering at humane societies and working with dogs, but he also has a strong interest in the automotive field. He enjoys hands on work, learning new skills, and finding ways to grow.

Claire Kolbet

Claire Kolbet

Claire is an animal science major on a pre-vet track with hopes of becoming a mixed animal veterinarian. She loves working with all kinds of animals, from cattle to pigs to dogs. She is very excited to continue to learn more about canine companions, and she is grateful to be involved in research that has such an impact on both dogs and their owners. Maybe she’ll even start to understand how her dog Percy always knows to smile for pictures!

Nathan Nienaber

Nathan Nienaber

Nathan is currently studying as pre-vet and is particularly drawn to surgery and lab work. Guinea pigs hold a special place in his heart, and he enjoys crochet and needle arts in his free time.

Former Lab Members