She received her BA from Hartwick College, her MS from the University of New Mexico, and her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She has been studying Sulawesi tarsiers since 1994. Her present research is centered on understanding the effects of altitude on the recently re-discovered pygmy tarsiers. She is the author of numerous scientific publications including The Spectral Tarsier, (Prentice Hall 2007); Primate Anti-Predator Strategies (coedited with Anna Nekaris, Springer 2007) as well as Tarsiers: Past, Present and Future (co-edited with Patricia Wright and Elwyn Simons, Rutgers University Press, 2003).