Ana Zadel

I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester, with my thesis focusing on zebrafish, genetically modified to carry the mutation we believe is responsible for some ADHD symptoms. During the project, I ran behavioural and molecular experiments, and the fact that I could observe the behaviour and then study the neural basis of it utterly fascinated me. I pursued my interest in neuroscience further, getting a master’s degree in Experimental Neuroscience from Imperial College London, where I worked with data analysis, neuroimaging and human psychiatric disorders. Not being entirely convinced that the human brain is what I would like to focus on, I moved to Sweden where I first came in contact with the field of insect neuroethology, while pursuing a Master’s in Biology. After a couple of projects in the Heinze lab, patiently tracing neurons in the bee brain, I returned to my first love - behavioural studies, focusing on navigation and memory in walking bumblebees during my thesis.Now, I am a PhD student, under the supervision of Stanley Heinze and Lina Herbertsson. I am working on developing methods to obtain quantitative descriptions of behaviour in walking bumblebees, that I could then use to study their memory, complex navigation strategies, and how pesticides may affect these.