Sapolsky is a renowned American scientist and writer, currently Professor of Biological Sciences and Neurology at Stanford University, with stays in various departments such as life sciences, neurology and neurosurgery. He is also a research associate at the National Museum of Kenya. He has received numerous awards, such as the MacArthur Scholarship, the Presidential Young Investigators Award from the National Science Foundation, and the Young Investigator of the Year Award. As a neuroendocrinologist, he focused his research area on the problems of stress and neuronal degeneration, as well as on the possibilities of gene therapy strategies for the protection of neurons sensitive to the disease. He is currently working on gene transfer techniques to strengthen neurons against the disabling effects of glucocorticoids. Sapolsky visits Kenya every year to study a population of wild monkeys in order to identify the sources of stress in their environment, and the relationship between personality and disease patterns linked to stress in these animals. More specifically, Sapolsky studied the levels of cortisol between the alpha male, the female and the subordinates, to determine the different levels of stress.