Sofia Forss

Sofia Forss is an Ambizione Group Leader at the University of Zurich's Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies since 2022. Previously held positions include Junior Fellow at Collegium Helveticum (2021–2022) and Postdoctoral Researcher roles at the University of Zurich (2020–2021), University of Lausanne (2019–2020), and Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (2017–2019).

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Evolutionary Anthropology (2010–2016), University of Zurich
  • M.Sc. in Evolutionary Anthropology (2007–2009), University of Zurich
  • B.Sc. in Biology (2003–2006), University of Zurich

Her research focuses on Animal Curiosity, Comparative Cognition, and Urbanization Effects on primate behavior. Key themes include social learning mechanisms, captivity-induced cognitive changes, and developmental influences on problem-solving. Recent work examines transdisciplinary curiosity frameworks connecting animal behavior, infant psychology, and AI development.

Selected publications reveal patterns in primate innovation (2025), urban vervet monkey cognition (2024), and ape curiosity dynamics (2022-2024). Research spans species from orangutans to mongooses, exploring sociality-cognition links, nutritional-social trade-offs, and methodological biases in cognitive studies.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Swiss National Science Foundation funding (2022–present)
  • Wenner Gren Foundation grant (2019–2020)
  • Forschungskredit funding (2020–2021)