Researching the social life of animals
I am a behavioral ecologist studying the social lives of animals, specifically focusing on the drivers of individual social preferences, the processes that groups follow to reach consensus, the ways groups resolve conflicts and respond to inequality, and the effects of environmental heterogeneity on such social processes. I enjoy coding and analyzing large behavioral datasets, but more than that, I am passionate about fieldwork in remote and animal-rich destinations.
Current project
On April 2023, I started my Marie Skłodowska–Curie fellowship on the collective behavior of bottlenose dolphins. I am affiliated with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, in the lab of Stephanie L. King. I also did a five-month secondment at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, in the lab of Michael Krützen and fieldwork at the spectacular Shark Bay of Western Australia. The primary objectives of this fellowship are to enhance my skills in bioinformatics, analysis of drone data, and bioacoustics.
In early 2024, I started my exciting new roles as Associate Editor in Proceedings of the Royal Society B and in PeerJ. |
Past research experiencesJust prior to my MSCA fellowship I was a fellow at the College for Life Sciences in the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, from September 2022 to March 2023. There I worked on a conceptual project examining how subordinate group members respond to the actions of individuals in positions of power and I collaborated with Sarah Brosnan, Eli Strauss, and Monique Borgerhoff-Mulder.
For my PhD (2016-2021), I was affiliated with both the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz in Germany, in the lab of Damien Farine. Then I did my first postdoc (2021-2022) at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich in the same lab, which had partially moved to Zurich. My research in the Farine lab centered around collective decision-making and social structure within the multilevel society of the vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum). This work earned me an Otto-Hahn medal from the Max Planck Society. Prior to my international endeavors, I conducted my BSc and MSc projects in Greece, where I was born and raised. I was affiliated with the University of Patras, working under the mentorship of Sinos Giokas. These projects focused on avian diversity in urban areas and on stopover ecology of migratory songbirds. Additionally, I pursued several internships across Europe, each lasting a few months, to gain experience in both laboratory and field settings, working with wild birds and bats. |
Parallel interestsI have actively engaged in rescuing animals in need—mostly stray dogs and cats in Greece. In addition to my past passion for horse riding— Dressage— I enjoy reading scientific and popular-science books on domestic animal behavior, horse and dog training, using positive reinforcement practices. I am very eager to contribute my analytical skills to research in these fields.
I am also passionate about participating in constructive discussions and research aimed at improving academia. I constantly educate myself in topics such as equality, diversity, and inclusion while also being deeply interested in the important task of decolonizing our field of behavioral ecology, which has historically been closely intertwined with colonialism. |