Noted scientist-author looks at stress, biology in lecture at UF

January 5, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — An award-winning scientist will take a humorous look at biology and stress in a Jan. 11 lecture in the Reitz Student Union, previously scheduled last fall.

The University of Florida Honors Program will host Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University who will deliver a talk titled “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Stress, Disease, and Coping.” The free lecture, co-sponsored by University Libraries, starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Rion Ballroom.

Sapolsky was originally expected to speak at UF on Oct. 27, but travel difficulties forced him to reschedule.

For more than 25 years, Sapolsky has divided his time between field work with a troop of baboons in Kenya and technical neurological research in the laboratory. As a result, he can move effortlessly from a discussion of pecking orders in primate societies to an explanation of how neurotransmitters work during stress — and get laughs doing it.

All first-year students in the Honors Program received a copy of Sapolsky’s book, “A Primate’s Memoir,” during Preview. This book is an account of his early years as a field biologist and details the culture and political shock he experienced. Funny, touching, and often sad and infuriating, “A Primate’s Memoir” gives readers insight into the personality of a gifted scientist. Sapolsky’s lecture is based on his book, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers,” and explains the findings of his research on the baboons he lived with in Africa.

Sapolsky is a MacArthur Fellow, a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, and a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya. In 2008, National Geographic & PBS aired an hour-long special on stress featuring Sapolsky and his research on the subject.