One of the biggest influences in my career as a biologist is Dr. Jane Goodall. She inspired my love for animals at a very young age. When I was a child, I read her series of books that focused on African mammals which I still have on my bookshelf to this day.

Recognized for her work as a primatologist, her focus was studying chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her research found that chimpanzees have complex social behavior and communication. In addition, she was the first scientist to observe chimpanzees eating meat. Until then, it was assumed that they were primarily herbivorous. However, her most famous finding was that chimpanzees use tools. At that point in history, tool making was thought to be exclusively a human trait, to distinguish humans from animals. This finding was ground breaking and altered the perception of primates.