The first edition of Pizza and Science took place on May 23, 2024 an atmosphere that was both scientific and professional, yet also friendly and relaxed. This event, organized to promote knowledge dissemination and cooperation among researchers, particularly young researchers, successfully captivated and inspired its audience, plunging them into an immersive and enriching scientific adventure.
Alba Motes Rodrigo and her colleagues inaugurated this edition by presenting the research conducted by the team of Prof. Erica van de Waal (UNIL). The event featured five in-depth presentations: Alba Motes Rodrigo discussed the costs and benefits of group living, focusing on the interaction between social behaviors, information dissemination, parasites, and gut microbiota. Prof. Erica van de Waal explored the food-medicine continuum, examining the links between stress, diet, and cognition. Loïc Brun presented his research on dispersal factors in male vervet monkeys and the use of biologging technology to understand their behavior. Verdana Šlipogor spoke about her collaboration with Prof. Olivier Collignon ( UC Louvain). and shared her work on multisensory communication using touchscreen technology in the wild. Ebi George addressed the division of labor in social insects and the development of computational tools to better understand animal behavior.
Erica van de Waal also demonstrated the boxes used in her studies on monkeys in South Africa, inviting the audience to participate actively. This demonstration provided a better understanding of the methods employed to explore the food-medicine continuum and the links between stress, diet, and cognition in monkeys.
Laboratory Tours and Moments of Sharing
The passionate audience of 12 participants, guided by researcher Ebi George, then visited the team’s laboratories at the Biophore of UNIL, where they discovered the facilities and technologies used in these innovative researches. Ebi George demonstrated how he uses microscopic QR codes to capture data on social insects’ behavior. These QR codes, printed by companies specializing in banknote printing, are meticulously placed on each ant by George himself. A camera then records the ants’ movements, with the QR code allowing each specimen to be identified and their individual trajectories tracked. The ant groups are subjected to various stimuli, and their reactions are translated into data for analysis. Ebi George estimates that it takes him about two hours to mark 100 ants.
The evening concluded with a convivial moment of sharing and exchanges over pizzas, offering an additional opportunity to strengthen bonds and discuss the challenges and inspirations encountered in research.
Alba Motes Rodrigo expressed her enthusiasm for the evening: “I found the evening really nice and the discussions very interesting. The pizza was amazing!” She also shared her vision for the future of animal behavior research: “I like to combine methods and techniques from different disciplines to try to understand why animals behave the way they do. I think technology will play an increasingly important role in this field, as it will help us collect and analyze larger volumes of data.”
Promoting Cooperation and Knowledge Sharing
In its mission to disseminate knowledge, The Sense promotes closeness and cooperation among researchers. Verdana Šlipogor presented an example of this mission through her collaboration with Prof. Olivier Collignon. Alba Motes Rodrigo also mentioned that she is in discussions with Katia Steinfeld (a member of Micah Murray‘s unit CHUV-UNIL) possibly work together and apply some methods developed to mitigate the negative effects of parasitism among Brazilian schoolchildren.
In sum , Pizza and Science succeeded in creating a moment conducive to bonding, network strengthening, and mutual inspiration, promising promising prospects for collaboration and innovation in the scientific field.
Dr Alba Motes Rodrigo - The Sense
