# Kevin Lala

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{{Short description|English evolutionary biologist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox scientist
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| name              = Kevin Lala
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| birth_name        = Kevin Neville Lala
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1962|10|05|df=yes}}
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| other_names       = Kevin Laland
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| fields            = [Behavioral biology](/source/Behavioral_biology)<br />[Evolutionary biology](/source/Evolutionary_biology)
| workplaces        = [University of St Andrews](/source/University_of_St_Andrews)
| patrons           = 
| education         = [University College London](/source/University_College_London) ([Ph.D.](/source/Ph.D.), 1990)
| alma_mater        = [University of Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton)
| thesis_title      = Social transmission in Norway rats and its implications for evolutionary theory
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| thesis_year       = 1990
| doctoral_advisor  = [Henry Plotkin](/source/Henry_Plotkin)
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| known_for         = [Niche construction theory](/source/Niche_construction)
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| awards            = [Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award](/source/Royal_Society_Wolfson_Research_Merit_Award)
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'''Kevin Neville Lala''' (formerly '''Laland'''; born 5 October 1962)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nb2002042997.html |title=Laland, Kevin N. |website=Library of Congress Name Authority File |access-date=2018-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Current lab members – The Lala Lab |url=https://lalandlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/current-lab-members/ |access-date=2023-02-01 |website=lalandlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk}}</ref> is an English evolutionary biologist who is Professor of Behavioural and Evolutionary Biology at the [University of St Andrews](/source/University_of_St_Andrews) in [Scotland](/source/Scotland). Educated at the [University of Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton) and [University College London](/source/University_College_London),<ref name=bbs>{{Cite journal |last1=Odling-Smee |first1=J. |last2=Laland |first2=K. N. |last3=Feldman |first3=M. W. |date=February 2000 |title=Niche construction, biological evolution, and cultural change |journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=131–146; discussion 146–175 |issn=0140-525X |pmid=11303338 |doi=10.1017/s0140525x00002417|s2cid=13893525 }}</ref> he was a [Human Frontier Science Program](/source/Human_Frontier_Science_Program) fellow at the [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley) before joining the University of St Andrews in 2002. He is one of the co-founders of [niche construction](/source/niche_construction) theory<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Laland |first1=K. N. |last2=Odling-Smee |first2=J. |last3=Feldman |first3=M. W. |date=2003 |title=Niche Construction: The Neglected Process in Evolution |url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691044378/niche-construction |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=488 |isbn=978-0-691-04437-8}}</ref> and a prominent advocate of the [extended evolutionary synthesis](/source/extended_evolutionary_synthesis).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-seek-to-update-evolution-20161122/ |title=Scientists Seek to Update Evolution |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |date=2016-11-22 |website=Quanta Magazine |access-date=2018-10-10}}</ref> He is a fellow of the [Royal Society of Edinburgh](/source/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh) and the [Society of Biology](/source/Society_of_Biology). He has also received a [European Research Council](/source/European_Research_Council) Advanced Grant,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://erc.europa.eu/projects-figures/erc-funded-projects/results?search_api_views_fulltext=evoculture |title=ERC Funded Projects |website=European Research Council |access-date=2020-06-24 |archive-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626090346/https://erc.europa.eu/projects-figures/erc-funded-projects/results?search_api_views_fulltext=evoculture }}</ref> a [Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award](/source/Royal_Society_Wolfson_Research_Merit_Award),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/prizes/royal-society-wolfson-fellowship(8ad02670-a679-4730-b250-957f23210d7d).html |title=Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship |website=University of St. Andrews |language=en |access-date=2020-06-24}}</ref> and a [John Templeton Foundation](/source/John_Templeton_Foundation) grant.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.templeton.org/grant/putting-the-extended-evolutionary-synthesis-to-the-test |title=Putting the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis to the Test |website=John Templeton Foundation |access-date=2020-06-24}}</ref> He was the president of the [European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association](/source/European_Human_Behaviour_and_Evolution_Association) from 2007 to 2010<ref name="cambridge">{{cite web|url= https://www.cambridge.org/core/membership/ehbea/about-us|website=cambridge.org|title=archived:www.cambridge.org/core/membership/ehbea/about-us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101051202/https://www.cambridge.org/core/membership/ehbea/about-us |access-date=2022-10-21|archive-date=1 November 2020 }}</ref> and a former president of the Cultural Evolution Society.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://culturalevolutionsociety.org/story/culturalevolutionsociety.org/story/About_Us |access-date=2023-02-01 |website=culturalevolutionsociety.org }}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Lala is currently an external faculty of the [Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research](/source/Konrad_Lorenz_Institute_for_Evolution_and_Cognition_Research) and Editor-in-Chief of [Biological Theory](/source/Biological_Theory_(journal)).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lala |first=Kevin N. |date=2026 |title=The Importance of Biological Theory |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13752-026-00529-8 |journal=Biological Theory |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.1007/s13752-026-00529-8 |issn=1555-5542}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=People {{!}} External Faculty {{!}} Discover The KLI |url=https://kli.ac.at/content/en/people/kli_external_faculty |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=kli.ac.at}}</ref>

== Cognition and learning ==
The Lala Lab is primarily focused on animal social learning, innovation, and intelligence,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Toyokawa |first1=Wataru |last2=Whalen |first2=Andrew |last3=Laland |first3=Kevin N. |date=2019-01-21 |title=Social learning strategies regulate the wisdom and madness of interactive crowds |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0518-x |journal=Nature Human Behaviour |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=183–193 |doi=10.1038/s41562-018-0518-x |pmid=30944445 |hdl=10023/18143 |s2cid=256703977 |issn=2397-3374|hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> as well as human evolution, particularly the evolution of cognition and culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laland |first1=Kevin |last2=Seed |first2=Amanda |date=2021-01-04 |title=Understanding Human Cognitive Uniqueness |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-psych-062220-051256 |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |language=en |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=689–716 |doi=10.1146/annurev-psych-062220-051256 |pmid=33400565 |s2cid=230784383 |issn=0066-4308|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Their work lies at the interdisciplinary interface of evolutionary biology, animal behavior, ecology, and psychology.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lala Lab – Research in the School of Biology |url=https://lalandlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/ |access-date=2023-02-01 |website=lalandlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Niche construction theory ==
Following John Odling-Smee's attempt in 1988 to formalize the process of [niche construction](/source/niche_construction) as an evolutionary process,<ref>Odling-Smee FJ (1988) Niche-constructing phenotypes. In: Plotkin HC (ed) The Role of Behavior in Evolution. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 73–132</ref> Odling-Smee, Lala, and Marcus W. Feldman developed a theoretical framework – Niche Construction Theory – that models niche construction as an evolutionary process reciprocally interacting with the process of natural selection.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Odling-Smee |first1=F. John |last2=Laland |first2=Kevin N. |last3=Feldman |first3=Marcus W. |date=1996 |title=Niche Construction |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=147 |issue=4 |pages=641–648 |doi=10.1086/285870 |jstor=2463239 |s2cid=222326061 |issn=0003-0147}}</ref> This theory has been applied widely across multiple fields, including ecology<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laland |first1=K. N. |last2=Odling-Smee |first2=F. J. |last3=Feldman |first3=M. W. |date=1999-08-31 |title=Evolutionary consequences of niche construction and their implications for ecology |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=96 |issue=18 |pages=10242–10247 |doi=10.1073/pnas.96.18.10242 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=17873 |pmid=10468593|bibcode=1999PNAS...9610242L |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Matthews |first1=Blake |last2=De Meester |first2=Luc |last3=Jones |first3=Clive G. |last4=Ibelings |first4=Bas W. |last5=Bouma |first5=Tjeerd J. |last6=Nuutinen |first6=Visa |last7=de Koppel |first7=Johan van |last8=Odling-Smee |first8=John |date=May 2014 |title=Under niche construction: an operational bridge between ecology, evolution, and ecosystem science |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1890/13-0953.1 |journal=Ecological Monographs |language=en |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=245–263 |doi=10.1890/13-0953.1 |bibcode=2014EcoM...84..245M |issn=0012-9615}}</ref> [evolutionary developmental biology](/source/evolutionary_developmental_biology),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laland |first1=Kevin N. |last2=Odling-Smee |first2=John |last3=Gilbert |first3=Scott F. |date=2008-11-15 |title=EvoDevo and niche construction: building bridges |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jez.b.21232 |journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution |language=en |volume=310B |issue=7 |pages=549–566 |doi=10.1002/jez.b.21232|pmid=18756522 |bibcode=2008JEZB..310..549L |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and human and cultural evolution.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kendal |first1=Jeremy |last2=Tehrani |first2=Jamshid J. |last3=Odling-Smee |first3=John |date=2011-03-27 |title=Human niche construction in interdisciplinary focus |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=366 |issue=1566 |pages=785–792 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2010.0306 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=3048995 |pmid=21320894}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laland |first1=Kevin N. |last2=Odling-Smee |first2=John |last3=Myles |first3=Sean |date=February 2010 |title=How culture shaped the human genome: bringing genetics and the human sciences together |journal=Nature Reviews Genetics |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=137–148 |doi=10.1038/nrg2734 |pmid=20084086 |s2cid=10287878 |issn=1471-0056}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laland |first1=Kevin N. |last2=Odling-Smee |first2=John |last3=Feldman |first3=Marcus W. |date=February 2000 |title=Niche construction, biological evolution, and cultural change |journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=131–146 |doi=10.1017/s0140525x00002417 |pmid=11303338 |s2cid=13893525 |issn=0140-525X}}</ref>

== Extended evolutionary synthesis ==
In the mid-2010s, Kevin Lala, Tobias Uller, and colleagues pushed for an [extended evolutionary synthesis](/source/extended_evolutionary_synthesis) in a series of high-impact articles.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laland |first1=Kevin |last2=Uller |first2=Tobias |last3=Feldman |first3=Marc |last4=Sterelny |first4=Kim |last5=Müller |first5=Gerd B. |last6=Moczek |first6=Armin |last7=Jablonka |first7=Eva |last8=Odling-Smee |first8=John |last9=Wray |first9=Gregory A. |last10=Hoekstra |first10=Hopi E. |last11=Futuyma |first11=Douglas J. |last12=Lenski |first12=Richard E. |last13=Mackay |first13=Trudy F. C. |last14=Schluter |first14=Dolph |last15=Strassmann |first15=Joan E. |date=October 2014 |title=Does evolutionary theory need a rethink? |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=514 |issue=7521 |pages=161–164 |doi=10.1038/514161a |pmid=25297418 |bibcode=2014Natur.514..161L |s2cid=4467421 |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free |hdl=1885/28950 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laland |first1=Kevin N. |last2=Uller |first2=Tobias |last3=Feldman |first3=Marcus W. |last4=Sterelny |first4=Kim |last5=Müller |first5=Gerd B. |last6=Moczek |first6=Armin |last7=Jablonka |first7=Eva |last8=Odling-Smee |first8=John |date=2015-08-22 |title=The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=282 |issue=1813 |article-number=20151019 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.1019 |pmc=4632619 |pmid=26246559}}</ref> From 2015 to 2018, Uller and Lala led a large international John Templeton Foundation grant to test key hypotheses and assumptions of the extended evolutionary synthesis.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Extended Evolutionary Synthesis – An integrative research program |url=https://extendedevolutionarysynthesis.com/ |access-date=2023-01-27 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Anti-racism work ==
Kevin Lala previously served on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion division of the School of Biology as deputy director.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Committee – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion |url=https://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/edi/edicommittee/ |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=biology.st-andrews.ac.uk}}</ref> He is currently serving as an anti-racism advocate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anti-racism – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion |url=https://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/edi/anti-racism/ |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=biology.st-andrews.ac.uk}}</ref>

Lala changed his name from Laland, stating on his lab website "Lala was my original family name, which my parents anglicized when I was 4, in an attempt to reduce the racism that their children experienced. I may have benefited from my surname being anglicized, but it did not sit right with me that I should still bear that name more than 50 years later. I wish to celebrate my ancestry not hide it. I am proud of my Parsi Indian heritage. I am not going to be intimidated by racists."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lalandlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/current-lab-members/#:~:text=Why%20I%20Changed%20My%20Name,more%20than%2050%20years%20later. |access-date=23 February 2024 |title=Current lab members – the Laland Lab }}</ref>

==Publications==

=== Journal articles ===

* [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TXcWAw0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao Google scholar]

=== Books ===
* ''Evolutionary Causation: Biological and Philosophical Reflections,'' The MIT Press, 2019, Tobias Uller, Kevin N Laland {{ISBN|9780262039925}}
* ''Darwin's Unfinished Symphony: How Culture Made the Human Mind'', Princeton University Press, 2017 {{ISBN|9780691151182}}
* ''Social Learning: An Introduction to Mechanisms, Methods, and Models'', Princeton University Press, 2013, William Hoppitt and Kevin N. Laland {{ISBN|9780691150703}}
* ''Sense and nonsense: Evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour'', Oxford University Press, 2011, Kevin N. Laland and Gillian R. Brown, 2nd edition {{ISBN|9780199586967}}
* ''Niche Construction: The Neglected Process in Evolution'', Princeton University Press, 2003, John Odling-Smee, Kevin N. Laland, Marcus W. Feldman {{ISBN|9780691044378}}
* ''Sense and nonsense: Evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour'', Oxford University Press, 2002, Kevin N. Laland and Gillian R. Brown, 1st edition {{ISBN|9780198508847}}
* ''Sense and nonsense: Evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour'', Oxford University Press, 2024, Kevin N. Lala and Gillian R. Brown, 3rd edition {{ISBN|9780198908203}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/kevin-neville-laland(4ae352f3-32ca-418e-9d07-9b8ee17e6183).html Faculty page]
*[https://lalandlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/ The Lala Lab]
*[https://nicheconstruction.com Niche construction resource website]
*[https://extendedevolutionarysynthesis.com Extended evolutionary synthesis project website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lala, Kevin}}
Category:Living people
Category:1962 births
Category:Alumni of University College London
Category:Alumni of the University of Southampton
Category:Academics of the University of St Andrews
Category:British evolutionary biologists
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Category:Fellows of the Society of Biology
Category:Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holders
Category:European Research Council grantees
Category:English biologists
Category:Extended evolutionary synthesis
Category:English people of Parsi descent
Category:British people of Parsi descent

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kevin Lala](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Lala) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Lala?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.