Find Academic Supervisors

• Pollinator Conservation
• Agricultural Land Management
• Biodiversity
• +5 more

Thijs Fijen is an Assistant Professor in Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation at Wageningen University & Research. His research focuses on pollinator conservation, agricultural landscapes, and biodiversity in agroecosystems. He co-promotes PhD candidates in projects related to pollinator-friendly farming, farmland birds, and solar park biodiversity. His work integrates ecological principles with practical agricultural solutions to enhance biodiversity while maintaining productivity. Research Interests: Fijen's key areas include crop diversification for pollinators, habitat quality for wild bees, and the effects of agricultural practices on insect populations. His recent studies highlight the limited impact of mass-flowering crops on pollinators and the importance of temporal resource availability in landscapes. Publications Trends: Over 2023-2025, Fijen has published extensively on pollinator habitat dynamics, floral resource management, and ecological intensification. His work bridges theoretical ecology with applied agriculture, emphasizing sustainable practices like strip-cropping and solar park biodiversity enhancement. Advising & Grants: As a co-promotor, he oversees projects on pollinator-friendly farming systems and solar park ecosystems. His research is supported by grants focusing on ecological agriculture and biodiversity conservation. Labs & Teams: Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams studying agroecology, pollination networks, and landscape ecology. Active in global networks analyzing crop pollination data (CropPol database) and promoting citizen science for ecological monitoring.

• Pollinator Ecology
• Biodiversity Conservation
• Land Use Management
• +3 more

Jeroen Scheper is a Lecturer in Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation at Wageningen University & Research. His research focuses on pollinator ecology, biodiversity conservation, and the impacts of land use on ecosystems. He has contributed to over 90 peer-reviewed publications and collaborates internationally on projects addressing pollinator habitat restoration, agricultural biodiversity, and climate change effects on grasslands. Key research interests include pollinator population dynamics, plant-pollinator network analysis, and the ecological effectiveness of biodiversity offsetting. He has supervised multiple PhD candidates exploring topics such as wild pollinator dependency, pest control through arthropod biodiversity, and climate-land use interactions. His work integrates ecological theory with applied solutions, such as optimizing agricultural practices to support biodiversity and evaluating green infrastructure's role in mitigating land-use impacts. Scheper's datasets, including the EuPPollNet database, highlight his commitment to open science and collaborative research. Recent projects emphasize the trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and agricultural productivity, with a focus on European farming systems. Media engagements and keynote talks underscore his role in translating ecological findings into actionable conservation strategies.

• Behavioral Ecology
• Aging in Social Insects
• Vitellogenin Function
• +5 more

Professor Gro Amdam is a leading biologist at Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences, with affiliations in the Biosocial Complexity Initiative and Social Insect Research Group. She holds a PhD (2003) and MSc (1999) from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, followed by postdoctoral work at UC Davis. Her research focuses on honeybee behavior and aging, particularly the role of vitellogenin in social evolution and immunity. Education: PhD in Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (2003) MSc in Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (1999) Research Interests: Dr. Amdam's lab investigates how vitellogenin influences social behavior, aging, and immune function in honeybees. Recent work includes transgenerational immunity mechanisms and the molecular basis of social behavior evolution. Key discoveries include linking vitellogenin to worker caste division of labor and pioneering honeybee vaccination strategies. Grants/Awards: $1.2M Research Council of Norway grant (2017-2021) for honeybee vaccination 2013 CAS Workgroup Award ($600K) for 'Ecology of Food Perception' 2007 PEW Scholarship and YFF Award Labs/Teams: Maintains labs at ASU and Norwegian University of Life Sciences, promoting international student exchange. Active in the Social Insect Research Group and Biosocial Complexity Initiative.

• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Neuroscience
• Learning and Memory
• +3 more

Brian Smith is a Professor at Arizona State University (ASU), affiliated with the School of Life Sciences and the Center for Evolution and Medicine. His research focuses on behavioral neuroscience, particularly learning and memory systems in insects and mammals, with applications to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. He investigates how animals use olfactory cues to predict environmental events, combining behavioral studies with electrophysiological, imaging, and computational techniques. Education : Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Kansas (1985). Research Interests : Smith explores how environmental contaminants (e.g., fungicides, heavy metals) impact learning and memory in pollinators like honey bees. His work bridges molecular neuroscience, behavioral ecology, and computational modeling to understand neural mechanisms underlying olfactory processing and decision-making. Grants & Collaborations : Lead or co-PI on multiple NSF, NIH, and international grants (e.g., Ideas Lab Collaborative Research on olfactory coding, NIH-funded studies on dopamine receptors in honey bees). He also collaborates on projects integrating neurotechnology (e.g., virtual odor delivery systems) and environmental policy. Labs & Teams : Directs the Social Insect Research Group, focusing on collective behavior and cognitive ecology. Active in interdisciplinary initiatives like the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience at ASU.

• Sustainability
• Circular Economy
• Sustainable Behavior
• +2 more

Professor Casper Boks leads sustainability research at NTNU's Department of Design, Faculty of Architecture and Design. His current work examines societal narratives affecting sustainable behavior through projects like 'Design and Shame' (exploring negative emotions in behavior change) and EU-funded 'SCORE' (developing circular economy education for youth). With a PhD in Industrial Design Engineering from Delft University, his 20+ year research trajectory spans sustainable product innovation, electronics end-of-life management, and design for sustainable behavior. He has supervised 15+ PhD students on topics ranging from circular business models to edible insect product design. Former leadership roles: Head of Department (2013-2017) and Vice Dean for Research & Innovation Collaborates extensively with industry (Philips, Electrolux) on sustainable design implementation Affiliated with NTNU's Industrial Ecology program

James T. CostaView profile

Professor

• Insect behavior and ecology
• Conservation biology
• History of evolutionary thought
• +1 more

James T. Costa is a Professor and Executive Director of the Highlands Biological Station at Western Carolina University (WCU), where he has taught genetics, entomology, evolution, and biogeography since 1996. His research spans insect behavior, conservation biology, and the history of evolutionary thought , with a focus on Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Costa has authored 9 books, including Radical by Nature: The Revolutionary Life of Alfred Russel Wallace (2023) and Darwin and the Art of Botany (2023), and held fellowships at institutions like Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and the New York Botanical Garden. Education: Ph.D. and M.A. in Entomology from the University of Georgia; B.S. in Biological Sciences from SUNY Buffalo. His teaching includes graduate Biogeography and courses on Darwin’s On the Origin of Species , alongside field programs in Ecuador and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Costa lectures extensively in the U.S. and Europe and has co-instructed Harvard’s Darwin summer program at Oxford. Awards include the Stephen Jay Gould Prize (2023) and Alfred Russel Wallace Medal (2017).

• Ecology
• Agricultural Sustainability
• Entomology
• +3 more

Tobin D. Northfield is a Researcher at James Cook University (JCU), focusing on ecological and agricultural sustainability research. His work bridges multiple disciplines including entomology, biodiversity conservation, and climate change impacts. He has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed publications, exploring topics such as pollinator community stability, biological control mechanisms, and agroecosystem dynamics. Research Interests: Dr. Northfield’s primary areas of research include: Ecological interactions in agroecosystems and natural environments Biological control strategies for pest management Climate change effects on species distributions and community stability Biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes Key Themes in Publications: Recent work emphasizes the role of organic farming practices in sustaining pollinator diversity (Functional Ecology 2023), environmental drivers of jellyfish distributions (PLoS ONE 2022), and the ecological consequences of agricultural intensification (Journal of Applied Ecology 2020). His research frequently integrates field studies with theoretical modeling to address applied ecological challenges. Collaborations: Active collaborations include projects with institutions like the USDA, University of Washington, and University of Queensland, focusing on interdisciplinary solutions for sustainable agriculture and biodiversity preservation.

• Virology
• Immunology
• Infectious Diseases
• +3 more

Penghua Wang is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Yale School of Medicine. He holds a PhD from the National University of Singapore (2006) and a BA from ZhongShan Medical University (1992). His research focuses on host-pathogen interactions, particularly RNA viruses, and explores mechanisms of viral pathogenesis and immune evasion. Key interests include innate immunity, antiviral immune responses, and viral life cycles. Education: PhD, National University of Singapore (2006) BA, ZhongShan Medical University (1992) His research investigates viral pathogens such as West Nile virus, Dengue virus, and Hepatitis C virus. Recent work includes identifying host factors influencing viral pathogenesis, such as NLRs and UBXNs, and elucidating mechanisms of immune evasion. Collaborations with researchers like Erol Fikrig and Ruth R. Montgomery have yielded studies on antiviral signaling, symbiotic bacteria’s role in flavivirus transmission, and SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Publications highlight advancements in understanding cGAS-STING signaling in kidney inflammation, integrin clustering, and mosquito-borne pathogen transmission dynamics. His lab is located at The Anlyan Center, 300 Cedar Street, Ste S410, New Haven, CT 06519.

Bill S. HanssonView profile

Professor

• Neuroethology
• Olfaction
• Evolution
• +6 more

Bill S. Hansson is the Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (MPICE) in Jena, Germany, and Director of the Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology. Previously, he served as Professor and Head of Chemical Ecology Division at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Associate Dean at the Faculty for Landscape Planning, Horticulture and Agricultural Sciences, and held academic positions at Lund University spanning from Assistant to Associate Professor. His research focuses on the neuroethology of insect olfaction, examining its function, anatomy, and evolutionary basis. Key interests include olfactory coding, neural processing of chemical signals, and odor-dependent behaviors in model organisms like Drosophila and moths. His pioneering work includes developing calcium imaging in moth brains and demonstrating functional organization in insect olfactory systems. Hansson's extensive publication record (200+ papers) reveals consistent focus on insect sensory biology, with recent work exploring neural correlates of odor valence, deceptive pollination systems, and molecular mechanisms of odorant reception. His research integrates neurophysiology, molecular biology, and behavioral ecology approaches. Major Honors and Awards: ISCE Silverstein-Simeone Lecture Award (2014) AChemS Givaudan Lecture Award (2013) Letterstedt Prize (2009) Swedish Linnaeus Grant: €1M/year for 10 years (2006) Elected Fellow/Member of 5 national academies including Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences He leads a research department of approximately 60 members at MPICE, where he established evolutionary neuroethology as a core discipline. His team investigates olfactory modulation across evolutionary timescales using Drosophila and hawk moth models, supported by major funding including the Linnaeus Grant.

Randolf MenzelView profile

Professor

• Neurobiology
• Honeybee Behavior
• Learning and Memory Mechanisms
• +3 more

Randolf Menzel is a Professor (C4) and Head of the Institute of Neurobiology at the Free University of Berlin since 1976. He also serves as a Guest Professor at the Center of Neuroscience, University of Trondheim, Norway, since 2002. His academic leadership includes roles as Dean, Administrative Director, and Curator in institutions like the Max Planck Institute and TH Darmstadt.

Tirthabir BiswasView profile

Research Professor

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Systems Neuroscience
• +3 more

Tirthabir Biswas is a Research Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Northwestern University. He holds a PhD from Stony Brook University and specializes in computational neuroscience, with a focus on linking neuronal network structure to function. Education: PhD in Neuroscience from Stony Brook University Research Interests: His work integrates theoretical models and experimental data to understand sensory-motor processing and cognitive functions. Key areas include: Inferring structural connectivity from functional neural activity Mechanisms of continuous variable representations in the brain Biomechanical strategies in complex behaviors like interception Optimization principles in legged locomotion Research Trends: His publications emphasize computational frameworks connecting neural networks to biomechanical systems, with recent work on geometric modeling of neural networks and insect gait mechanics. Advising & Grants: No specific grants or advising roles are highlighted in the provided information. His research is supported through institutional affiliations and collaborative projects.

• Forensic Entomology
• Medical Entomology
• Veterinary Entomology
• +3 more

Dr. Sasha Voss is a Lecturer in Forensic Entomology at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, based at the Centre for Forensic Anthropology. Her research focuses on forensic applications of entomology, including insect behavior in decomposition environments, parasitoid-host interactions, and improving PMI estimation accuracy. She has led and contributed to major grants, including a $5.7M project on crop pollination using flies and a $422K initiative on insect protein for aquaculture feed. Notable projects include studies on blowfly development, carrion insect bioacoustics, and fly pollination of avocados. Her research interests span forensic entomology, medical/veterinary entomology, and agricultural pest control. Key contributions include optimizing insect rearing methods and validating forensic entomological techniques. Recent publications emphasize bioacoustics for carrion insect surveys, plant-based diets for blowflies, and blowfly pollination efficacy. Her work intersects with UN SDGs related to sustainable agriculture and reducing hunger.

Katja SeltmannView profile

Lecturer

• Biodiversity Informatics
• Entomology
• Ecological Restoration
• +3 more

Dr. Katja Seltmann is a Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and serves as Director of the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER). Her leadership integrates collections management, ecological restoration initiatives, and STEAM education programs to advance the university's mission and support interdisciplinary research. Educational background includes: PhD from Pennsylvania State University MSc from University of Kentucky BFA from University of Georgia Her research program focuses on biodiversity informatics—applying data science methods to digitized natural history collections—and examines arthropod diversity in restoration habitats. She pioneers approaches to expand the educational impact of ecological restoration through integration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). Specific interests include: Developing computational tools for analyzing collection specimen data Investigating bee ecology and pollinator responses to environmental change Creating STEAM curricula leveraging natural history collections Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate strong research trends in pollinator ecology, biodiversity informatics, and restoration science, with particular emphasis on: Climate impacts on bee behavior and functional traits Genomic applications for herbarium specimens Standardization of biodiversity data practices As CCBER Director, she oversees campus natural areas used for research and education, manages extensive biological collections, and develops community engagement programs that connect academic research with conservation practice.

Leigh SimmonsView profile

Professor

• Behavioral Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Sperm Competition
• +3 more

Leigh Simmons is an Emeritus Professor and Senior Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia. His research uses vertebrates and invertebrates to test theoretical models of sexual selection and life history evolution. Research programs focus on: (1) sperm competition and paternal effects via seminal fluid; (2) evolution of animal genitalia; (3) natural and sexual selection on insect cuticular lipids; (4) diet effects on reproductive health; and (5) sexual selection's role in population fitness. His lab hosts collaborative projects on trapdoor spiders, dung beetles, and climate adaptation. Current funding includes ARC Discovery Projects on sexual selection in the wild and ABRS grants for trapdoor spider taxonomy.

Craig LawrenceView profile

Adjunct Associate Professor

• Aquaculture
• Fish Physiology
• Conservation Biology
• +3 more

Craig Lawrence is an Adjunct Associate Professor at The University of Western Australia (UWA), affiliated with the School of Agriculture and Environment, Institute of Agriculture, and UWA Oceans Institute. He leads the UWA Aquaculture Laboratory, the largest recirculating aquaculture system in WA, and previously managed the Department of Fisheries Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre. His research focuses on aquaculture systems, fish physiology, and biodiversity conservation. Education: PhD in Aquaculture (2001), UWA MSc in Aquaculture (1992), University of Stirling P.Grad.Dip in Marine Biology (1989), Curtin University Research Interests: Craig specializes in aquaculture system design, fish reproduction physiology, endangered species breeding, and mosquito control via fish stocking. His work integrates large-scale multidisciplinary projects and industry collaboration, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to sustainable aquaculture and biodiversity preservation. Grants & Funding: Craig has secured over $4.5 million in grants for projects like marron farming optimization, insect protein in aquafeed, and mosquito larval suppression using native fish. Notable funding bodies include FRDC, State NRM Program, and AgriFutures Australia. Awards: Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (2014) WA Premier’s Award - Innovation (2002) WA Premier’s Award - Managing the Environment (2012) Lab & Teams: Directs the UWA Aquaculture Laboratory and collaborates with industry/government on aquaculture R&D. Supervises UWA Honours and PhD students in aquaculture and fish physiology.