James C. Ha, PhD, is a WaNPRC Staff Scientist and as Head of the Division of Primate Resource’s (DPR) Breeding Colony Management Services, is responsible for oversight of the WaNPRC’s remotely-housed breeding colonies and coordination with the Seattle Breeding Colony. He also directs the DPR’s animal record management efforts. Dr. Ha is a member of the Primate Center’s Resource Advisory Committee and Animal Allocation Committee. He is a senior advisor to the IPRL Director, and regularly consults and collaborates on a number of projects conducted in the IPRL. Dr. Ha has a background in animal behavior, especially social behavior and cognition, and in biostatistics.
Dr. Ha is also a Research Associate Professor of Psychology (Animal Behavior Program) at the University of Washington where he teaches classes in animal behavior and statistics. In his faculty role, he supervises a number of students conducting research on social behavior of primates, killer whales, dogs, and crows. His research includes landmark studies on the role of social group dynamics on reproductive outcome in nonhuman primates, as well as numerous publications on nonhuman primate cognition and temperament, crow social behavior and ecology, and a variety of comparative medicine studies.
He is an active member of the Animal Behavior Society, a professional organization, and served for 12 years in various positions on its Executive Committee. He has served as editor of the international journal Animal Behaviour, and travels widely for research and lecturing purposes, most recently giving a series of addresses and minicourses in Brazil. He is certified as an Applied Animal Behavorist by the Animal Behavior Society’s credentialing organization, and is a professional dog trainer and behavior specialist.
Dr. Ha can be contacted at jcha@uw.edu.