Draft:Fanny M. Cornejo

Fanny M. Cornejo (Lima, 1984) is a Peruvian biologist and anthropologist. She is the co-founder of the Yunkawasi Civil Association and is its current executive director. She has become a reliable reference in the study of primates and her work has been recognized internationally. She is partially credited with the presentation of a new species of primate, Aquino's tamarin (Cheracebus aquino) and, notably, in 2023, she received the Indianapolis Prize inaugural Emerging Conservationist Award as a graduate student.

Early life and education
Cornejo credits her interest in nature to her mother and father, an engineer and geologist, respectively. Cornejo was frequently involved in their travels and fieldwork. Having grown up surrounded by fossils, mountains, and Peruvian flora and fauna, Cornejo decided to dedicate herself to conservation. However, it was not until meeting Fica, a red howler monkey, during an internship at the Park of Legends (Parque de las Leyendas), a zoo, that she decided to focus upon primatology and the conservation of Peruvian primates.

Cornejo studied biology, with an emphasis on zoology, and graduated from the National Major University of San Marcos (Lima, Peru). Currently, she is a Ph. D. candidate at Stony Brook University (New York, United States) where she is a member of the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences. Her focus of study is concerning primates, big mammals, and conservation activities to protect forests and improve the livelihoods of local and Indigenous communities.

Career
In 2007, Cornejo and her mother, Fanny Fernandez Melo founded Yunkawasi, a non-governmental organization. Together, they initiated environmental education programs focused on raising awareness about Peruvian primates, specifically the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, as well as implementing developmental skills amongst local peasant women. Since its founding, Yunkawasi has contributed to the sustainable development of Peruvian territory and conservation of its biodiversity. Yunkawasi has established partnerships locally as well as internationally to further her research including: Peruvian regional and local governments, indigenous peoples, peasant communities, as well as private sectors. Cornejo's work through Yunkawasi has been recognized by various organizations at the international and national levels; recently recognized with the Antonio Brack Egg National Environmental Award 2023 in the Peru Natural category

Research
Cornejo has conducted extensive research and published findings alongside Dr. Rolando Aquino of the Institute of Veterinary Tropical and High Altitude Research in Loreto. She was partially credited for the discovery of a new primate, Aquino's tamarin (Cheracebus aquino).

The yellow-tailed woolly monkey is an endemic primate of the Tropical Andes of Peru and a focus of Cornejo's research. However, she has also conducted research on various primates native to Peru as well as the Andean bear. Her research is rooted in conservation as the species she studies are almost exclusively declared at-risk or endangered.

Publications

 * Aquino, R., Terrones, W., Cornejo, F., & Heymann, E. W. (2008). Geographic distribution and possible taxonomic distinction of Callicebus torquatus populations (Pitheciidae: Primates) in Peruvian Amazonia. American Journal of Primatology, 70(12), 1181–1186. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20607
 * Aquino, R., Cornejo, F. M., Pezo Lozano, E., & Heymann, E. W. (2009). Geographic distribution and demography of Pithecia aequatorialis (pitheciidae) in Peruvian Amazonia. American Journal of Primatology, 71(12), 964–968. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20738
 * Aquino, R., Cornejo, F. M., Pezo, E., & Heymann, E. W. (2013). Distribution and Abundance of White-Fronted Spider Monkeys, Ateles belzebuth (Atelidae), and Threats to Their Survival in Peruvian Amazonia. Folia Primatologica, 84(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1159/000345549
 * Aquino, R., Cornejo, F. M., & Heymann, E. W. (2013). Primate abundance and habitat preferences on the lower Urubamba and Tambo rivers, central–eastern Peruvian Amazonia. Primates, 54(4), 377–383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-013-0357-3
 * Pain, E. L., & Cornejo, F. M. (2015). The Woolly Monkey: Behavior, Ecology, Systematics, and Captive Research [Review of The Woolly Monkey: Behavior, Ecology, Systematics, and Captive Research]. 24(1), 37–38. Wiley.
 * Pain, E. L., & Cornejo, F. M. (2015). Colombian Endangered Primates extinction [Review of Colombian Endangered Primates extinction]. 24(1), 37–38. Wiley.
 * Di Fiore, A., Chaves, P. B., Cornejo, F. M., Schmitt, C. A., Shanee, S., Cortés-Ortiz, L., Fagundes, V., Roos, C., & Pacheco, V. (2015). The rise and fall of a genus: Complete mtDNA genomes shed light on the phylogenetic position of yellow-tailed woolly monkeys, Lagothrix flavicauda, and on the evolutionary history of the family Atelidae (Primates: Platyrrhini). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 82, 495–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2014.03.028
 * Pain, E. L., & Cornejo, F. M. (2015). High Altitude Primates [Review of High Altitude Primates]. 24(1), 37–38. Wiley
 * Pain, E. L., & Cornejo, F. M. (2015). Book Review - Primates Colombianos en Peligro de Extinción [Review of Book Review - Primates Colombianos en Peligro de Extinción]. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 24(1), 37–38. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21440
 * Pain, E. L., & Cornejo, F. M. (2015). Advances in primate behavioral ecology and conservationPrimates Colombianos en Peligro de Extinción Edited by Thomas R.Defler, Pablo R.Stevenson, Marta L.Bueno, and Diana C.Guzmán Caro (2013) Bogotá: Asociación Primatologica Colombiana. ISBN 978‐1‐4614‐8174‐4The Woolly Monkey: Behavior, Ecology, Systematics, and Cap. Evolutionary Anthropology, 24(1), 37–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21440
 * JUNKER, J., PETROVAN, S. O., ARROYO-RODRÍGUEZ, V., BOONRATANA, R., BYLER, D., CHAPMAN, C. A., CHETRY, D., CHEYNE, S. M., CORNEJO, F. M., CORTÉS-ORTIZ, L., COWLISHAW, G., CHRISTIE, A. P., CROCKFORD, C., DE LA TORRE, S., DE MELO, F. R., FAN, P., GRUETER, C. C., GUZMÁN-CARO, D. C., HEYMANN, E. W., … KÜHL, H. S. (2020). A Severe Lack of Evidence Limits Effective Conservation of the World’s Primates. Bioscience, 70(9), 794–803. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa082
 * Seiffert, E. R., Tejedor, M. F., Fleagle, J. G., Novo, N. M., Cornejo, F. M., Bond, M., de Vries, D., & Campbell, J. (2020). A parapithecid stem anthropoid of African origin in the Paleogene of South America. Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 368(6487), 194-.
 * McHugh, S. M., Cornejo, F. M., McKibben, J., Zarate, M., Tello, C., Jiménez, C. F., & Schmitt, C. A. (2020). First record of the Peruvian yellow-tailed woolly monkey Lagothrix flavicauda in the Región Junín, Peru. Oryx, 54(6), 814–818. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531900084X
 * Seiffert, E. R., Tejedor, M. F., Fleagle, J. G., Novo, N. M., Cornejo, F. M., Bond, M., De Vries, D., & Campbell, K. E. (2020). A parapithecid stem anthropoid of African origin in the Paleogene of South America. Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 368(6487), 194–197. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba1135
 * Osterman, W. H. A., Cornejo, F. M., & Osterman, J. (2021). An Andean bear population hotspot in Northern Peru. Ursus (International Association for Bear Research and Management), 2021(32e12), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-20-00005.3