Gillian Forrester is a professor of comparative cognition at the University of Sussex and director of the Comparative Cognition Group known for investigating the behaviour and brain organisation of human and non-human apes, the work of which Forrester regularly discusses in appearances on popular science shows on radio (BBC Radio 4, BBC Local),[2] television (BBC, CNN, Reuters, BBC South East)[3][4] and science podcasts (Level Up Human, BBC Crowd Science).[5] Forrester also writes about her work in articles published by leading science magazines: Discover Magazine, Psychology Today, Early Years Educator, and Autism Parenting Magazine. Her work has featured in The Washington Post, The Conversation, Mensa IQ magazine,[6] Discover Magazine[7] and New Scientist[8][9][10] and in her position as a popular science educator she has participated in televised interviews by The Royal Society, CNN[11] and the BBC regarding her research work with great apes and human development.[12]
Forrester is the founder of the ‘Me, Human’ project,[13] which engages in public outreach and education and advocates for women and girls in science. Through this project, Forrester collaborates with the public to further popular science and to educate about human cognition through talks and live demonstrations via platforms such as Live Science and Psyched!
Forrester works in the fields of cognitive science, experimental neuroscience and evolutionary, and developmental psychology, studying the evolution and behaviour of both the Great Apes and humans, through the study of human beings and other species. Forrester's work follows on from the ape and chimpanzee behavioural research and studies of the naturalists Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall with a remit to better understand human evolution and the development of speech, bi-pedalism and tool usage.
In the science magazine, Discover, Forrester states,
'Humans have more objects and are doing more object-driven things. If we narrow down hand dominance in apes to tool use... we find apes are certainly significantly right-handed for tool use. Motor biases are seen throughout the animal world, all the way back to 500 million years ago and the emergence of vertebrates, and possibly even older than that.'
In an interview with Mensa magazine, IQ, Forrester is quoted,
'We originally thought humans were unique in having parts of their brains dedicated to language. But natural selection doesn't really do that. We think that language was originally physical; a gestural system. If we want to dispel the fact that language is unique to humans, we need to show how it links to these older behaviours.'[19]
Forrester acts as an advocate for popular, public science communication, often appearing in mainstream science programmes to make science more accessible, as well as advocating for women and girls in STEM, and great ape conservation. In 2023 she was made director of the Science Futures field at Glastonbury Festival.
Media
Since 2019, Forrester has fostered public science engagement through mainstream contributions to television programmes such as Brain Hacks,[20]BBC’s The Incredible Human Hand,[21] and Puzzle Solving Great Apes;[22] digital broadcasts, BBC CrowdScience;[23] in radio on BBC Radio 4 Supersenses,[24] BBC Radio 4's The Shock,[25] and Speaking in Public; podcasts such as Level Up Human, Ecoflix, and Talking Apes;[26] and news media such as The Conversation and New Scientist.[27]
Public talks and exhibitions Forrester has contributed to include New Scientist Live, Psyched!, The London Science Museum, Royal Society 'Summer Science Live 2024',[28] and music and science festivals such as Bluedot, Norwich Science Festival and the Glastonbury Festival, of which she was made the Principal Curator of the Science Futures field in 2025.[29]
In 2025, Forrester filmed an appearance for two episodes of Horizon: Secrets of the Brain, as a consultant and guest, being interviewed by the BBC science presenter Jim Al-Khalili.[30][31]
Bibliography
Peer-reviewed publications
Neuromethods: Hand, Limb, and Other Motor Preferences - Malatesta G., Forrester, GS (2025)[32]
Journal of Sport and Health Science: International norms for adult handgrip strength: A systematic review - Tomkinson, Forrester GS (2024)[33]
Scientific Reports: Motor-sensory biases are associated with cognitive and social abilities in humans - Donati G., Edginton T, Bardo A, Kivell T, Ballieux H, Stamate C, Forrester GS (2024)[34]
SRCD: Social gaze in preterm infants - Davis R, Donati G, Forrester GS (2022)[35]
Get a Grip: Variation in Human Hand Grip Strength and Implications for Human Evolution - Bardo A, Kivell TL, Town K, Donati G, Ballieux H, Stamate C, Edginton T, Forrester GS. (2021)[36]
Gaze Behaviour to Lateral Face Stimuli in Infants: Scientific Reports - Donati G, Davis R, Forrester GS (2020)[37]
Evolutionary Motor Biases and Cognition in Children with and without Autism. Scientific Reports - Forrester GS, Davis R, Malatesta G, Todd BK (2020)[38]
The Left Cradling Bias: An Evolutionary Facilitator of Social Cognition - Forrester GS, Davis R, Mareschal D, Malastrata G, Todd B (2019)[39]
Progress in Brain Research - Forrester GS, Todd B (2018)[40]
Slip of the tongue: Implications for Evolution and Language Development - Forrester GS, Rodriguez A (2015)[41]
Behavioural Brain Research - Forrester GS, Pegler R, Thomas MSC, Mareschal D (2014)[42]
Human handedness: An Inherited Evolutionary Trait - Forrester GS, Quaresmini C, Leavens DA, Mareschal D, Thomas MSC (2013)[43]
↑ Tomkinson, G. R.; Lang, J. J.; Rubín, L.; McGrath, R.; Gower, B.; Boyle, T.; Klug, M. G.; Mayhew, A. J.; Blake, H. T.; Ortega, F. B.; Cadenas-Sanchez, C.; Magnussen, C. G.; Fraser, B. J.; Kidokoro, T.; Liu, Y.; Christensen, K.; Leong, D. P.; iGRIPS (international handGRIP Strength) Group (14 December 2025). "International norms for adult handgrip strength". Journal of Sport and Health Science. 14. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2024.101014. PMC11863340. PMID39647778.
BBC Sounds - BBC Sounds interview with Gillian Forrester
New Scientist - New Scientist interview with Gillian Forrester
New Scientist - New Scientist interview with Gillian Forrester
The Royal Society - The Royal Society interview with Gillian Forrester
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