Evan Gurkin

Evan
Gurkin

Primate behaviour, cognition and the evolutionary roots of mental health.

PhD student, University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK and Carolina Beach, NC

Field to clinic

I'm a PhD student in Biological Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.

My interest in mental health started long before primatology. I grew up working in community mental health, including on an Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT), which supports people living with serious mental illness in their homes and communities. That work showed me how much relationships, stress and isolation shape a person's wellbeing, and those questions have followed me into the field.

Since then I've studied chimpanzees in western Tanzania, baboons in Namibia and macaques in Japan and Gibraltar, looking at how other primates form bonds, regulate their behaviour and cope with social life.

I hold an MSc in Human Evolution and Behaviour from UCL (Distinction) and a BSc from UNC Chapel Hill, where I studied biology, psychology and chemistry. I've also worked as an EMT and as head surf instructor at a surf school back home in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, where I developed therapy surf lessons for ACTT patients.

Cape Toi, Japan
Evan surfing on a foggy day
Off duty, North Carolina

Current work

Papers
The Rock of Gibraltar at sunset

Mirrors & self-directed behaviour

Gibraltar

How Barbary macaques explore and use mirrors and reflective surfaces. The core project of my PhD.

Evan running the cylinder task with a Japanese macaque

Inhibitory control

Koshima, Japan

A multi-site replication of the cylinder task with Japanese macaques, testing how self-control varies with sex and dominance rank.

Chacma baboons grooming, with an infantPhoto: Bernard Dupont, CC BY-SA 2.0

Social bonds & trust

Tsaobis, Namibia

Whether grooming of vulnerable body regions reflects the strength of the bond between partners, using video of 199 grooming bouts across 42 pairs of wild chacma baboons at Tsaobis Nature Park.

Chimpanzee mother and juvenile feeding, Issa Valley

Evolutionary psychiatry

UK & comparative

Focus groups with UK psychiatrists on how evolutionary frameworks are used in clinical practice, alongside comparative work on adolescence, cultural transmission and social isolation.

Field sites

The Rock of Gibraltar at sunset

Gibraltar

2026 –
Barbary macaques

Mirror and cognition research for my PhD, University of Cambridge.

Evan on the beach with Japanese macaques, Koshima

Koshima, Japan

2026
Japanese macaques

Cognition experiments with the Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University.

Mare and foal, Cape Toi

Cape Toi, Japan

2026
Feral horses

Drone-based observation of horse social groups with Kyoto University.

Juvenile Japanese macaque above the sea, Awajishima

Awajishima, Japan

2026
Japanese macaques

Field training for Kyoto University at the Awajishima Monkey Center.

Chacma baboons groomingPhoto: B. Dupont, CC BY-SA 2.0

Tsaobis, Namibia

MSc
Chacma baboons

Grooming, trust and social bonds in a wild desert population.

Young chimpanzee in a strangler fig, Issa Valley

Issa Valley, Tanzania

MSc
Chimpanzees & yellow baboons

Fieldwork with wild chimpanzees during my MSc, including an independent project on nest orientation and wind.

Papers

  1. Manuscript
    Boundaries and bonds: analysis of social bonds and body region selection in wild chacma baboon groomingGurkin, E., Carter, A. J., Kunz, J. A., Huchard, E., Cowlishaw, G. & Fernández Fueyo, E.
    Summary

    Do baboons let their closest partners groom the most vulnerable parts of their bodies? Across 199 grooming bouts from 42 pairs at Tsaobis, bond strength didn't predict access to vulnerable areas, and neither did kinship or rank. The pattern was strongly skewed, though: half of pairs never groomed these regions while a few devoted most of their grooming to them.

    In prep
  2. Manuscript
    Psychiatrists' experiences and views on evolutionary perspectives: a qualitative service evaluationGurkin, E., Katiyar, T., Carpenter, T., Hunt, A. D., Chaudhary, N. & Gillett, G.
    Summary

    Focus groups with fifteen UK psychiatrists on using evolutionary explanations in the clinic. Psychiatrists reported benefits such as reduced self-stigma and better engagement, and positive responses from patients and families, but also real barriers at the patient, clinician and service level.

    In prep
  3. Manuscript
    Inhibitory control in Japanese macaques: sex and rank effects on cylinder task performanceKaigaishi, Y., Gurkin, E. & Yamamoto, S.
    In prep
  4. 2025
    Any way the wind blows: testing orientation as a wind-avoidance strategy in chimpanzee nestingGurkin, E., MSc independent project, University College London
    Summary

    Do chimpanzees orient their nests away from the wind? Across 178 nests at Issa Valley, Tanzania, fresh nests showed no consistent relationship with daily wind direction and older nests faced every which way, suggesting tree structure, terrain and social factors matter more than wind for nest orientation.

    Report

Also contributed to

  1. 2026
    Chimpanzees follow human pointing when attention is engaged ↗Melis, A. P., Rossano, F., Goguen, A. & Ayebazibwe, I. iScience 29. Reliability coding (acknowledged).
    Published

Ask me for a draft

Get in touch

I'm always glad to hear from people working on primate behaviour, comparative cognition or evolutionary approaches to mental health.

Email me CV
Darwin College, Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EU