Garet Lahvis

Garet Lahvis is a neuroscientist who has conducted academic research for over 40 years and published more than 45 scientific papers. After discovering that mice derive pleasure from living with other mice and can also feel their pain, Garet left animal research – feeling that if he took his work seriously, he would need to leave it.

His public-facing work often addresses what he believes is a growing divide between what society expects of science and what scientists can provide. Much of his work reveals the scientific and emotional realities of animal research, blending scientific insights with literary craft to render complex ethical and scientific questions accessible and compelling to a wide readership.

His work has appeared in December, eLife, Aeon, and Vox Magazines. His essay, “NQR,” was awarded the Curt Johnson Prose Award from December magazine in 2014. Two of his essays were nominated for Pushcart Prizes. In 2020, Garet was awarded an Oregon Literary Fellowship. Garet is now writing a book for the University of Chicago Press that argues biomedical research needs to acknowledge the rational and emotional experiences of nonhuman animals – for the welfare of science and human health. Having studied creative writing at the University of Iowa, Stanford University, Marylhurst University, and Literary Arts, he attempts to bring the best of what he learned from each one to his courses on narrative writing.