Jessica Oliva

Dr Jessica Oliva is an Lecturer in Psychology at James Cook University based at the Townsville campus. Her research interests include owner-dog attachment, dog social cognition, empathy, speciesism, connectedness to nature and mindfulness. Inspired by her own experiences adopting a shelter dog, Bonnie, she completed a PhD at Monash University in 2015 investigating the role of the neuropeptide, oxytocin, in human-dog bonding and communication. She then completed a Post-Doctoral fellowship at the Institute of Research in Semi-chemistry and Applied Ethology (IRSEA) in France, investigating the efficacy of Dog Appeasing Pheremone (DAP) versus oxytocin, in dog social cognition, and the influence of human attachment. She has also worked as a Post-Doctoral researcher at the Parent-Infant Research Instititue where she was involved in federal government funded projects to treat perinatal ill mental health. Before arriving to JCU, Dr Oliva worked as a Lecturer in Psychology at Monash University in Melbourne where she supervised 18 Honours projects to successful completion.