Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel is a primate scientist, Fulbright Scholar, and former biomedical research leader whose work has shaped global understanding of zoonotic disease risks and primate conservation. For decades, she led federally funded, high-impact, international research teams at the University of Washington, publishing nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles across primatology, virology, and global health. From early fieldwork with endangered orangutans to decades spent inside primate research facilities, Dr. Jones-Engel has unique insight into both conservation and the biomedical industry. Now Senior Science Advisor at PETA, she draws on decades of firsthand scientific experience to confront one of the central ethical questions of our time: what our growing understanding of animal cognition and consciousness demands of us. Her work challenges institutions, funders, and scientists to reconcile what we now know about primates’ emotional lives, social intelligence, and capacity for suffering with how they are still used in research. By linking empirical science with ethical responsibility, she calls on all stakeholders to move beyond outdated assumptions and toward research systems that reflect both scientific rigor and moral progress.