John Quinn

John Quinn is a Professor in Zoology at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. He holds the title of Professor since 2015 and has been a Lecturer in Ecology at UCC since 2012. He previously held positions at the University of Oxford, including a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship (2001–2004) and postdoctoral roles focusing on behavioral ecology and conservation biology.

Education:

• PhD in Zoology (2000), University of Oxford
• MSc in Biological Computation (1990), University of York
• BSc (Hons) Zoology (1988), University College Dublin

Research Interests:

• Cognitive ecology and individual variation in animal behavior
• Seabird ecology and conservation
• Microbiome-gut-brain interactions in wild birds
• Ecological impacts of human activities on avian populations

His ERC Consolidator Grant (€1.99M) supports research on cognition in heterogeneous environments, and he has secured over €5M in total research funding. Quinn has supervised 14 PhD and 2 MRes students, as well as 9 postdocs.

Key Achievements:

• Founder of the BEES seminar series and Research Club at UCC
• Associate Editor at three international journals for 20+ years
• Over 100 peer-reviewed publications with a h-index of 43
• Lead on impactful projects like the APC Microbiome Ireland initiative

Outreach & Engagement:

• Consultant for conservation NGOs (e.g., BirdWatch Ireland)
• Public lectures on behavioral ecology and conservation
• Adviser to art exhibitions linking ecology and public engagement