Megha Majoe

Megha Majoe is a Researcher at the Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Her work focuses on understanding social behavior, aging mechanisms, and reproductive trade-offs in social insects like ants, combining molecular and behavioral approaches. She collaborates with Prof. Dr. Susanne Foitzik and Dr. Volker Nehring on projects exploring the interplay between fecundity, longevity, and sociality in ants.

Education:

• BSc Zoology, Ramnarain Ruia College Mumbai (2014–2016)
• MSc Zoology, University of Melbourne (2016–2017)
• Doctoral Candidature at JGU Mainz (continuing since 2020), previously at University of Freiburg (2018–2020)

Research Interests: She investigates how social living influences fitness and aging in organisms, particularly ants and macaques. Her PhD project examines reversals of fecundity-longevity trade-offs in ants using transcriptomics and experimental manipulations. She bridges molecular analyses with behavioral observations to uncover evolutionary drivers of social behavior.

Recent Research Trends: Her publications emphasize queen-worker interactions in ants, effects of queen presence/absence on worker traits, and molecular mechanisms underlying aging. She studies invasive ant species like Tapinoma magnum and Lasius neglectus, focusing on how social organization shapes physiology and behavior.

Grants and Labs: Collaborates with the Foitzik Lab at JGU Mainz, contributing to projects like the So-Long consortium. Her work integrates field studies, lab experiments, and genomic tools to address fundamental questions in evolutionary biology and social insect ecology.