{"id":46562,"date":"2026-02-03T16:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=46562"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:49:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:49:24","slug":"inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-big-award-grateful-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-big-award-grateful-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Big Award, Grateful Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_46570\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46570\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-46570 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg2_0326-210x300.jpg\" alt=\"greys-parrots-with-dr-pepperberg\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg2_0326-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg2_0326.jpg 559w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46570\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Though lesser known than their predecessor, Alex, grey parrots Kyo and Alo (shown with Dr. Irene Pepperberg) also helped advance the study of parrot intelligence in Dr. Pepperberg&#8217;s cognitive behavior research lab. Image courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the very end of December, I learned that I had won the 2025 Division 3 Experimental Psychology Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association. It was a bit of a surprise, as it generally is not given to a comparative psychologist like myself\u2026 comparative psychologists have our own separate division. But it meant a lot to be acknowledged in this way, mainly because such an award acknowledges not just the principal investigator, but also everyone who has been involved in the research since its inception. So, this blog is to say thank you to all those involved!<\/p>\n<p>First, a huge thank you to all the students and volunteers who have worked with me throughout the years. A big shout-out to those very first students at Purdue, who were willing to work with a nobody\u2014I didn\u2019t have <em>any<\/em> title at that point\u2014on a project for which no one other than myself had any hopes of success. But we eventually did collect data and get a small National Science Foundation grant! None of it would have happened without your dedication in working endlessly as models in our Model\/Rival procedure\u2026A thank you to all the students at Northwestern, the University of Arizona, the MIT Media Lab, Brandeis University, Harvard, and those from Northeastern, Tufts, Boston University and Boston College\u2026all your hard work throughout the years was crucial: Whether you cared for the parrots or became the first author on a paper, everything you did contributed to our success.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46567\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46567\" style=\"width: 195px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-46567 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg1_0326-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"grey-parrot-alex-on perch\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg1_0326-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg1_0326.jpg 521w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46567\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grey parrot Alex&#8217;s intelligence showed the world that the term \u201cbird brain\u201d was a compliment. Image courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Second is an acknowledgement of my colleagues. Some of you have collaborated with me over the years, co-authoring papers, sharing ideas, and brainstorming experimental designs. Some of you defended my grants; others made space for me in your departments when the formal establishment would not, maintaining my place in academia, making sure I had access to students, library privileges, and the ability to attend seminars and colloquia.<\/p>\n<p>Even those who criticized my work were important, because you forced me to think and write more clearly, to sharpen my ideas and hone the ability to act as my own critic. Others invited me to present our data at conferences and department seminars, to contribute to special journal issues and to write book chapters and encyclopedia entries, giving me the chance to explain what we were doing and why it was significant.<\/p>\n<h3>Fueling The Research<\/h3>\n<p>Next is another HUGE thank you to all our donors who had and still have faith in the research. You are the lifeblood that keeps us going, literally. Everything ALWAYS helps\u2026even what some folks think is a \u201cdrop in the bucket.\u201d Well, all those drops add up! I say it when I write every thank-you note, and I absolutely mean it; we could not keep going without the help of folks like yourselves. Even when we did have federal funding, it was never enough to cover all our expenses, and now you are our only means of support.<\/p>\n<p>I absolutely cannot forget friends and family (and, yes, there is a lot of overlap with the previous groups, but not always)\u2014those of you who have provided unquestionable emotional support through a career that often resembles \u201cThe Perils of Pauline\u201d\u2026sometimes providing a quiet refuge, sometimes including me in large celebrations; sometimes initiating a lunch or dinner or a long walk where you lent a sympathetic ear, sage advice, or helped mark a success. Sometimes it was being kind enough to understand why I missed birthdays, weddings, graduations, funerals, holidays, or other important milestones because I had an unforgiving deadline or I had to be halfway around the world to give a talk.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46574\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46574\" style=\"width: 297px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-46574 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg3_2601-297x300.jpg\" alt=\"grey-parrot-arthur-perched-on-grate\" width=\"297\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg3_2601-297x300.jpg 297w, https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg3_2601-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg3_2601-768x777.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg3_2601.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 297px) 100vw, 297px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grey parrot Arthur (aka Wart) was one of a handful of parrots who played an important part of Dr. Pepperberg&#8217;s research. Image courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46576\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46576\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-46576 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg-4-co-pepperberg-2601-190x300.jpg\" alt=\"grey-parrot-athena\" width=\"190\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg-4-co-pepperberg-2601-190x300.jpg 190w, https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg-4-co-pepperberg-2601.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46576\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grey parrot Athena worked along side her lab flockmate Griffin.<br \/>Image courtesy of Dr. Pepperberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46564\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46564\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-46564 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg_2601-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"grey parrot griffin on perch stand\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg_2601-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pepperberg_2601.jpg 532w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46564\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grey parrot, Griffin, has taken up the mantle left by Alex. Image courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And, of course, last but certainly not least, the Grey parrots\u2026my nonhuman colleagues for almost 50 years. Alex, the first, who convinced the world that being called a \u201cbird brain\u201d was a compliment, whose obituary was the final page of <em>The Economist<\/em>, in the <em>New York<\/em> <em>Times<\/em>, and other newspapers and magazines across the world. Kyaaro, Alo, Arthur, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/from-laughter-to-lessons-remembering-athena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Athena<\/a>, whose contributions were less heralded but nonetheless extremely important. Griffin, who has (even if at first unwillingly) taken up the mantle left by Alex, and who continues to surprise the scientific community with abilities comparable to those of 6 to 7-year-old children. And Pepper and Franco, who have worked with their owner and my lab for over a decade to demonstrate that a parrot needs not live in the rarified atmosphere of a laboratory to exhibit the same level of intelligence and provide the same quality of data as our lab birds.<\/p>\n<p>So, yes, I might be the one receiving this award, but it couldn\u2019t have happened without all of you, human and nonhuman, who have accompanied me on this journey.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>You can help Dr. Pepperberg continue the groundbreaking parrot research she began 40 years ago with Alex, the grey parrot who won admirers from around the world with his cognitive abilities. If you shop online through sites such as Amazon.com, you can designate the Alex Foundation to receive a percentage of your final sales, or register with the Alex Foundation at iGive.com and a percentage of sales from companies associated with iGive will go to the foundation. The Alex Foundation also has a \u201cDonate\u201d button linked to PayPal. Visit the Alex Foundation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/alexfoundation.org\/support-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cSupport Us\u201d link<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Irene Pepperberg celebrates her Lifetime Achievement Award by honoring the people and parrots who power her work and transform how science understands animal minds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":46570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new","bird-type-african-grey"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Big Award, Grateful Heart &#8211; 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