Lori Marino

Lori Marino is a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence. She is an adjunct faculty member in Animal Studies at New York University.

Lori received her Ph.D. in biopsychology in 1995 and is internationally known for her work on the evolution of the brain and intelligence in dolphins and whales (as well as primates and farmed animals). She has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters, and magazine articles on marine mammal biology and cognition; comparative brain anatomy; self-awareness in nonhuman animals; human-nonhuman relationships; and the evolution of intelligence.

She is also an expert on marine mammal captivity issues such as captive cetacean well-being, dolphin assisted therapy, and the educational claims of the zoo and aquarium industry.

In 2001, she co-authored a ground-breaking study offering the first conclusive evidence for mirror self-recognition in bottlenose dolphins, after which she decided against further research with captive dolphins.

Lori is also the Founder and Executive Director of The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy and co-director of the Animal Law and Science Project at George Washington University.

She has appeared in several films and television programs, including the 2013 documentary Blackfish about killer whale captivity; Unlocking the Cage, the 2016 documentary on the Nonhuman Rights Project; and Long Gone Wild, the 2019 documentary that picks up where Blackfish left off and the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project begins.

Lori is the 2026 Drake Award recipient from the SETI Institute, an honor that acknowledges exceptional work in the area of life and intelligence in the universe.