Bridget Waller

Bridget Waller is a Professor of Psychology at the School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University (NTU), and Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Interaction (CRoS). She leads the Evolution and Social Interaction Research Group, focusing on evolutionary and comparative approaches to social communication.

• MSc in Evolutionary Psychology (University of Liverpool, supervised by Prof. Robin Dunbar)
• PhD in Psychology (University of Portsmouth, supervised by Prof. Kim Bard)
• BSc in Zoology (Royal Holloway University of London)

Her research centers on the evolution of social communication, particularly facial expressions in humans and non-human primates. She pioneered species-specific modifications of the FACS (Facial Action Coding System) to analyze facial movements across primates, including crested macaques, orangutans, and gibbons. Current projects include the ERC Consolidator Grant (FACEDIFF) investigating individual differences in facial expressivity and its evolutionary origins, alongside the AnimalFACS initiative comparing human and primate communication systems.

Her publications reveal trends in evolutionary psychology, primate behavior, and facial expression analysis, often involving interdisciplinary collaborations with institutions like the Leakey Foundation, DFG, and Waltham Foundation. A key theme is the interplay between facial anatomy, social function, and evolutionary adaptation.

Scientific honors include the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship, while her grants span funding from the European Research Council, Leverhulme Trust, and British Academy. She has also contributed to developing tools like CatFACS and Rhesus Macaque FACS, advancing comparative communication research.