Behavioural physiology, Hormone-Behaviour interactions, Social life, Stress research, Reproduction, Nutrition, Energy balance

My research interests focus on several aspects and interactions among the fields of physiology and behaviour, including endocrinology, reproduction, nutrition, cognition, social behaviour and social dominance. I am further interested in how these factors are related to the energy balance, in particular how animals adapt physiologically and behaviorally to different energetically demanding situations, and how this may affect their development, the process of aging, and the life span. 

We are currently investigating different physiological and behavioural influences of dietary (saturated and unsaturated) fatty acids in socially living domestic guinea pigs, focusing on the complex interactions among fatty acids and physiological stress responses in relation to the animals' behavior and social system. Further aspects address cross-generational, age- and sex-related influences and the role of dietary fatty acids in reproduction and during the pre- and postnatal development.