Sarah Marshall-Pescini

Sarah Marshall-Pescini is a Senior Scientist at the Konrad-Lorenz-Institut für Vergleichende Verhaltensforschung (KLIVV), part of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Her research focuses on comparative social behavior and cognition across primates, dogs, and wolves, with fieldwork in Italy and Morocco.

• 2018–present: Senior Scientist at KLIVV, Vienna
• 2013–2017: Senior Post-doctoral Scientist at Wolf Science Centre and Messerli Research Institute
• 2010–2013: Post-doctoral fellow at University of Milan

Education

• 2018: Habilitation at KLIVV
• 2017: Italian State Habilitation for Associate Professor in Comparative Psychology and Zoology
• 2005–2008: PhD in Psychobiology, University of Milan
• 1999–2003: PhD in Psychology, University of St Andrews
• 1994–1998: MA in Psychology, University of St Andrews

Research Focus

Marshall-Pescini investigates social learning mechanisms in primates and the evolutionary divergence of social cognition between wolves and dogs. Current projects include:

• Testing the Domestication Syndrome hypothesis in free-ranging dogs (FWF I-5052, €683,000)
• Urbanization of top predators (WWTF ESR20-009, €650,000)
• Proximate mechanisms of problem-solving in canines (FWF, €400,000)

Her work spans behavioral ecology, cognitive neuroscience, and evolutionary biology.

Scientific Awards

• Post-doctoral fellowship from the University of Milan

Teaching & Outreach

She teaches graduate courses in Animal Behaviour and Canine Evolution, Behavior and Cognition as part of the MA in IMHAI. Her outreach efforts include annual workshops for dog trainers in Italy, translating research findings into practical applications.

Lab & Collaboration

Co-founder of the Dog Cognition Lab at the University of Milan, she has developed innovative paradigms for studying cooperation, prosociality, and inequity aversion in canines. Collaborative work with institutions like the Polish Academy of Science and University of Sassari demonstrates her international research network.