Clara Ferreira

Clara Ferreira is a researcher at Northumbria University, leading the Ferreira Lab established in July 2023. Her work focuses on understanding how social cues are detected and processed in the brain to guide group behavior, using Drosophila melanogaster as a primary model organism. She has developed novel experimental setups to study social modulation of fear responses in flies, revealing insights into collective decision-making.

• PhD from University of Oxford

Her research integrates neuroscience and behavioral biology to explore:

• Neuronal circuits underlying social behavior
• Decision-making processes in groups
• Play-like behaviors in insects
• Fear modulation through social cues
• Genetic basis of cognitive processes
• Environmental stress impacts on behavior

Scientific contributions include key publications in Current Biology, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, and Nature Communications. She supervises PhD student Rui MacHado Gonçalves and utilizes advanced neurobiological tools to investigate social interaction mechanisms.