Zuleyma Tang-Martinez, professor of biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, became the first Latina to win the prestigious Quest Award from the Animal Behavior Society. It is an international professional society that decided to honor her lifetime achievements in research. Tang-Martinez’s research has focused on the social behavior of animals and communication, particularly how animals use odors to identify individuals, mates and kin. She has also worked to promote women and to encourage diversity in science.

The Current: What was your reaction to receiving the Quest Award?
Zuleyma Tang-Martinez: Well, it was a complete surprise because they don’t come out with the awards ahead of time. So, I had no idea I was going to receive the award. I was sitting at the banquet and they started talking about the Quest Award and the individual who would be receiving it, without mentioning my name at first. And as they went on, I thought “Ah, that sounds a lot like what I do.” So finally when they announced who the winner was, I was just totally amazed, I mean, it was a thrill.

TC: Could you tell me briefly what the award is given for?

ZTM: The award is given for critical contributions to advance the field of animal behavior. And it is one of the Animal Behavior Society’s career awards. It is one of the three top awards for research by the Animal Behavior Society.

TC: How did it feel to be the first Latina to win?

ZTM: It was a thrill. It was really good not just for myself but for the Latin American membership at the society.

TC: You have been involved with the society for a long time, and had a number of leadership positions, including president, and have worked to in many ways to expand diversity, particularly encouraging Latin American scientists, and helping advance women in academic careers.

ZTM: I used to laugh and say there were two brown faces you could count on being at meetings and I was one of them. [When I became ABS president], I started the Latin American committee. We are still a tiny minority but compared to what it was before, I would say we have lots of Latin Americans who pretty regularly attend the Animal Behavior Society. Currently, I chair the diversity committee. In fact, in 2007, I got an exceptional service award from the Animal Behavior Society, which was wonderful, but I have to say that being recognized for my research is even a bigger thrill.

TC: Biology was once a very male dominated field and now there are many more women in it. Do you think that opened it up to new ideas?

Zuleyma Tang-Martinez teaches Animal Behavior

ZTM: Absolutely. I think animal behavior is the perfect example of that. Our field is probably one of the most equal, in terms of the proportion of men and women in science. You can see an enormous change as more women came into the field, in terms of the kinds of questions that were asked. [For example], it used to be that scientists went out and looked at primates and the most important thing was considered to be the dominance relationships among the individuals in the group. There was a lot of work done on aggression. When women began coming into the field, there was a very obvious switch, looking at mother-offspring interactions, friendships, social bonds, within the group.