Ben Garrod (born 29 January 1982) is an English evolutionary biologist, primatologist and broadcaster. He has been Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

since 2019.

Early life

Garrod was born in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

, where he lived in the Elephant and Castle pub and attended East Norfolk Sixth Form College. , his parents are stewards at Great Yarmouth and Caister Golf Club.

Career and research

Academic and conservation work

Garrod attended

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

, where he completed his BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour in 2005. He completed an MSc in Wild Animal Biology at the

Royal Veterinary College , mottoeng = Confront disease at onset , established = (became a constituent part of University of London in 1949) , endowment = £10.5 million (2021) , budget = £106.0 million (20 ...

. Garrod completed a doctorate at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

. His thesis focused on the evolution of monkeys in tropical islands and was titled "Primates of the Caribbean". He has published on primate pathology and osteoarchaeology. Garrod spent several years in western

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

working on the development and management of a leading field site for chimpanzee conservation with the

Jane Goodall Institute The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global wildlife and environment conservation organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1977 by English primatologist Jane Goodall. The institute has offices in more than twenty-five coun ...

, where among other things he was responsible for habituating wild chimpanzees. He has also worked in Southeast Asia for an orangutan conservation organisation, in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

studying marine life, and in the Caribbean studying introduced monkeys. Garrod's institutional affiliations include being a Trustee for the UK

; Ambassador for the

Norfolk Wildlife Trust The Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest of all the trusts. It has over 35,500 members and eight local groups and it mana ...

; Ambassador for

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...

; Patron of the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA); Ambassador for the

Marine Conservation Society The Marine Conservation Society is a UK based not-for-profit organization working with businesses, governments and communities to clean and protect the oceans. Founded in 1983, the group claims to be working towards "cleaner, better-protected, h ...

; and Fellow of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

. Garrod is a Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the

. He is also a teaching fellow at

Public engagement

Garrod has presented a series and several television shows, including ''Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur'' with

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

, ''Baby Chimp Rescue'', and ''

Springwatch ''Springwatch'', ''Autumnwatch'' and ''Winterwatch'', sometimes known collectively as ''The Watches'', are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The p ...

'', in addition to two of his own series; ''Secrets of Bones'' and ''Secrets of Skin'' on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. He has also presented numerous short films on the One Show. He has delivered a

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

talk and is a regular speaker at conferences, public debates and scientific festivals, including the Cheltenham Science Festival. He also writes scientific articles for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''The Conversation''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrod, Ben 1982 births Living people Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University Alumni of the Royal Veterinary College Alumni of University College London Academics of the University of East Anglia English biologists Primatologists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London