I HAVE long had a huge admiration for Dr Jane Goodall, the English primatologist, anthropologist and animal rights activist, who is best known for her work around chimpanzees and their habitats.

What I like about her is that she has dedicated her life to the study of chimpanzees in a really healthy and positive way.

I know this sounds corny, but, like many other young girls, I wanted to be a vet when I was growing up, and we had lots of animals at home. Before I came to Ireland, I did a degree in anthropology and primatology at college in Vancouver, so I basically studied monkeys, which has nothing whatsoever to do with radio!

I knew about Jane Goodall before I went to college because I was interested in her work, and I thought what she did was amazing. She was born in London in 1934 and growing up she was interested in animals.

She was hired by well-known anthropologist Louis Leakey, and was asked by him to study chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in Africa.

When she got there in 1960, she started a colony and managed to get a group of animals that had no prior contact with humans to trust her intrinsically.

I find it fascinating that Jane removed herself from society to carry out her work.

She stayed in Africa for 45 years because she wanted to advance the research, understanding and protection of chimpanzees in Africa. I love that she named all the chimpanzees because she viewed them as equals, and she built up strong relationships with them.

There has been some criticism of her methods, and she may not have been scientific enough for some people's liking, particularly in relation to the use of feeding stations to attract Gombe chimpanzees, which was considered by some to have altered their normal foraging and feeding patterns, as well as their social relationships. However, her work has greatly contributed to the study of social learning, primate cognition, thinking and culture in wild chimpanzees. Her observations and discoveries have made revolutionary inroads into scientific thinking around the evolutions of humans.

She discovered, for example, that the chimps were able to use different materials and tools, which gave an insight into what early humans were able to do, as chimps share 97% of our genetic make up and had similar kinds of hands and bone structures.

Jane established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, which supports the Gombe research, and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. She has received many honours and awards for her environmental and humanitarian work, and a lot of them were related to her foundation, which has 19 offices around the world. It runs community-centred conservation and development programmes, including one called Roots and Shoots, which has more than 8,000 youth groups in 96 countries.

She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2004, and was made a United Nations messenger of peace by then UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in 2002. Other awards she received were Tokyo's Kyoto Prize, the French Legion of Honour, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the medal of Tanzania, and the Gandhi-King Award for Non-violence.

As well as these prestigious awards, Jane has made her way into popular culture. There is a plaque honouring her in Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park and she has appeared as herself in The Simpsons and The Wild Thornberrys cartoons. I've always loved Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons, and there was one that caused a lot of controversy because it was of one chimp finding a human hair on another one, and saying: "Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?" The people at her institute started legal proceedings because they thought it was so offensive, but it didn't go ahead as Jane said she found the cartoon funny.

Twice married, she has one son called Hugo. She remarried Derek Bryceson, a member of Tanzania's parliament and director of its country's national parks. He passed away in 1980, and she has been based between Africa and England ever since.

Jane wasn't as controversial as people like Dian Fossey, who was murdered in the course of her work with orangutans, but she was very dedicated to her animals and lifestyle, and went through whatever she had to, in order to carry out her work. I admire those who carry on with their own actions and beliefs no matter what obstacles are put in their path.

Even now, aged 73, Jane spends approximately 300 days per year advocating on behalf of chimpanzees and the environment. We all get wrapped up in our jobs but I really think a lot of anyone who is that passionate and dedicated, and can build their life around that passion.

An animal rights activist, as well as a scientist and anthropologist, Jane is president of Advocates for Animals, which campaigns against the use of animals in medical research, zoos, farming and sport.

I'm still really interested in primatology, and think what Jane Goodall does is great because I really believe that we have to be kind to our animal friends.

Alison Curtis produces 'The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show', and presents 'The Last Splash' every Sunday night from 8-10pm on Today FM