Home About DCP Research Associates Justin Gregg
Justin Gregg, Ph.D.

Research Associate

Justin Gregg received his doctorate from the School of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin in Dublin Ireland in 2008. He has been a research associate with DCP since 2004, assisting with data collection on Bimini for 2004 and leading the field research on Mikura Island for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 field seasons. He is currently a co-editor at the academic journal Aquatic Mammals.

Justin obtained a BA in linguistics from the University of Vermont in 1998 and studied Sound Engineering and Music Technology at the Sound Training Centre in Dublin Ireland before beginning his PhD studies in 2004. As a voice actor, he supplied starring voices for the feature length animated film The Ugly Duckling and Me and Legends of Valhalla: Thor as well as numerous television and radio ads, and appeared on morning radio in Ireland performing musical comedy.

Justin has been fascinated by marine mammals since his childhood; adopting a humpback whale named Stub when he was 8, a picture of whom hung above his bed for many years. Through the study of psychology, Justin found a way to combine his love of languages and language with his interest in marine mammal behavior. His doctoral research focused on how echolocation use may be related to a dolphin's ability to comprehend referential signaling - an important building block for complex communication systems and an indispensable component of human language.

Justin's essay about his work studying referential signals took third prize in the 2008 Wellcome Trust and New Scientist essay competition. You can read about his research in this 2009 article from Science Spin Magazine and the Irish Veterinary Journal. Justin produced and hosted DCP's podcast The Dolphin Pod , which is archived here, and is currently on hold until funding (and time) allow the production of new episodes. He is about to publish a popular science book about dolphins for Oxford University Press titled Are Dolphins Really Smart? The Mammal Behind the Myth. You can follow him on twitter @justindgregg, check out Justin's website/blog, or contact him via the DCP contact form. Justin has also been known to write his own biography in the third person, which has never really fooled anyone.

Justin as Thor:

 
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