Jean-Christophe Sandoz

Biography: JC Sandoz studied Biology and Agronomy in Paris and Nancy (France). He obtained his PhD in 1998 working with Dr. Pham-Delègue (INRA/CNRS). He performed postdoctoral research at BBSRC Rothamsted, with Dr. Wadhams and at the Free University of Berlin, with Prof. Menzel. He was then recruited as a permanent research fellow at CNRS in Toulouse (2003) and worked with Prof. Giurfa. In 2010, JC Sandoz moved to CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette, where he was appointed CNRS Research Director in 2012. He is currently the head of a research team on “cognition, reproduction and adaptations in the honeybee”, a member of the Evolution, Genome, Behavior and Ecology Lab(CNRS University Paris-Saclay). He is also Secretary of the French Section of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI), and member of the Scientific Council of the Fyssen Foundation

Research Interests: JC Sandoz’s research mainly focuses on the Neuroethology of honeybees’ elaborate cognitive capacities, from simple olfactory perception, via associative learning and memory, up to the learning of complex rules. He uses an integrative approach, based on a combination of well-controlled behavioral protocols, state-of-the-art optical imaging and functional neuroanatomy to unravel the specific adaptations of the bee brain for performing these cognitive feats. This research is performed in a comparative perspective with other animal models, attempting to understand the evolutionary origin and genetic determinism of these skills.

Website: http://www.egce.cnrs-gif.fr/?p=920