Projects
Unraveling the cell type specific underpinnings that shape collicular mediated visual behaviors KU Leuven
Cell types are the building blocks of living organisms, and the brain has the most extensive variety of them. Yet, how (or to what extent) different neuronal cell populations contribute to bringing about behavior remains an open question. The work presented in my thesis aims to advance the understanding of the relationship between specific neuronal cell types, the behaviors they evoke, and the related brain-wide activity. In the first part, I ...
Evolution of a protein pheromone system in newts (Salamandridae) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Determining the role of defined collicular cell types in visual field-dependent innate behaviors KU Leuven
Innate behaviors are essential for survival. Visual cues mimicking a predator elicit freezing or escape reactions, whereas those indicative of prey attract an animal’s attention and prompt approach responses. Surprisingly, these different outcomes can be triggered by merely altering the position of the stimulus in the visual field. Both aversion and approach are mediated by a set of visuomotor circuits passing through the superior colliculus. ...
Molecular and functional control of eating and sleeping behavior in insects. KU Leuven
Living with(out) elephants. Environmental dynamics, colonial control and the birth of global conservationism (Congo-Uganda, ca. 1880-ca. 1962) Ghent University
This project is about environmental justice, and assumes that mass destruction of wild animals is correlated with social injustice. It addresses this issue by focusing on the birth and development of colonial conservationist policies of the African elephants which, it will be argued, were both socially disruptive and environmentally destructive. It focuses on two government organisations acting in neighbouring areas: the Elephant Taming ...