Postdocs and fellows

Current

After the completion of her Marie Curie Fellowship in the Healy Lab, during which she has examined how nest building influences problem solving abilities in zebra finches, as well as circulating sex steroid variations across nest building in this species, Marie sticked around. She is currently a BBSRC-funded postdoc (Researcher co-investigator) studying how birds quickly transition from a sexual to a parental brain during nest building, using various tools such as Next Generation Sequencing, Mass Spectrometry and pharmacological manipulations to answer this question.

E-mail: mafh1(AT)st-andrews.ac.uk

Former

Dr Maria Cristina Tello-Ramos

Maria was a research assistant on two projects. i) one focused on determining whether there is an effect of social learning in the nest and roost building behaviour of the white-browed sparrow weaver (Plocepasser mahali mahali) at the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. ii) comparing the foraging behaviour between hummingbirds and bees. E-mail: mctr(AT)st-andrews.ac.uk

Dr Shoko Sugasawa

Shoko is a BBSRC Discovery Fellow studying nest-building behaviour in birds with Prof. Sue Healy. She is interested in the ecology and evolution of animal behaviour, with a particular focus on animal architecture, including nests and tools, as well as movement ecology. E-mail: ss244(AT)st-andrews.ac.uk

Dr David Pritchard

David was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Healy Lab. David is interested in what animals in the wild learn about their environment, and how they use this information to find their way around. He worked on small-scale navigation in Rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) and he is now working in the Vallejo-Marin Lab at the University of Stirling looking at buzz pollination.

Dr Lauren Guillette

2014-2018: Lauren was a BBSRC Anniversary Future Leader Fellow in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews. During the time Lauren spent at the Healy Lab, she examined the role of learning in nest building behaviour in zebra finches. She has now moved to the University of Alberta to start a new position as Assistant Professor.

Dr Eira Ihalainen

2015-2018: Eira’s research at the Healy Lab focused on the role of individual learning, nest material use and male-female interactions in nesting zebra finches. At that time she was a Marie Curie Fellow. She has a background in the evolutionary ecology of animal colouration, particularly warning signalling and mimicry.

Dr Ida Bailey

2012-2015: Ida is interested in how animals acquire and use information for decision-making and the energetic and ecological consequences of those decisions. Her postdoctoral work in the Healy lab focused on what information birds use to make decisions about nest construction.

Dr Kate Morgan

2012-2015: Kate’s post-doctoral research in Healy lab focused on the role of cognition in birds nest building behaviour. Previously, her PhD research focused on how context influences the decision-making of humans and hummingbirds.

Dr Patrick Walsh

2007-2010: Patrick’s post-doctoral research in Healy lab focused on the role of cognition in birds nest building behaviour. Patrick is a teaching fellow at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Edinburgh. E-mail: ‎Patrick.Walsh(AT)ed.ac.uk

Dr Christelle Jozet-Alves

2007-2008: Christelle is a lecturer at the Université de Caen Basse-Normandie. E-mail: ‎christelle.alves(AT)unicaen.fr

Dr Jonathan Daisley

2005-2006: During his time in the Healy lab Jonathan researched spatial memory in birds. He is a consultant ecologist at Heritage Environment Ltd.

Dr Robert Biegler

Robert is an associate professor in psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. E-mail: ‎robert.biegler(AT)svt.ntnu.no‎

Dr Simone Meddle

1999-2005: Simone is a reader at the Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh. E-mail: ‎simone.meddle(AT)roslin.ed.ac.uk‎