Kris Coleman, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in the Divisions of Comparative Medicine and Neuroscience at the ONPRC.

Dr. Coleman is interested in why some individuals are more prone to stress related problems than others. She has examined how early experience, biological factors (e.g., temperament), and environmental factors (e.g., social status) interact to modulate vulnerability or resilience to various consequences of stress. Knowing how these factors interact can help identify individuals at risk for the development of stress-related problems.

Dr. Coleman also examines ways to reduce stress and improve psychological well-being for laboratory monkeys. For example, positive reinforcement training (PRT), a type of training in which subjects voluntarily cooperate with veterinary, husbandry and research procedures such as remaining still for blood draws or injections, reduces stress associated with these procedures. The Coleman lab found that PRT also reduces the occurrence of stereotypical behavior in rhesus macaques. However, not every animal benefits from such training, and there is a great deal of variation among individuals with respect to their ability to be trained. Temperament and environmental factors (such as the presence of a conspecific) can affect training success. This information can help us provide care for laboratory primates that is geared towards the individual, as opposed to using a one size fits all approach.