Octopus cognition PhD

[gsmith]

Hello! My name is Gabriella and I am a student of animal cognition. I have a Master's in Animal Behavior and Conservation from Hunter College, and I'm interested in pursuing octopus cognition for my PhD. Would anyone be aware of PIs currently recruiting students for this kind of research or schools I should look into? Thanks in advance!

Gabriella

Home | Gabriella Smith, M.A.

gsmith156.wixsite.com

 

[tonmo]

Hi Gabriella! Have you looked into the Marine Biological Laboratory in Wood Hole, MA? @Bret Grasse MBL may have some ideas or leads (you could try sending him a direct message / i.e., "start conversation").

 

[pkilian]

Hi Gabriella, It's exciting you are looking for a PhD program! I don't think they are doing much octopus cognition at MBL. Your best bet down there will probably be Roger Hanlon but I am unsure if he is taking on any PhD students at the moment. You could also reach out to Josh Rosenthal but I know his research is primarily focused on cuttlefish epigenetics. Bret is mostly focused on animal husbandry and doesn't lead much research on his own but he may be a good resource to connect you with other researchers in the area. Carrie Albertine could be a good person to contact as well.

You could also try to get in touch with Eric Edsinger or Gul Dolen- they have both done octopus cognitive work in the past, but I am unsure what their current status is.

Let me know if you have troubles finding contact information for any of these people and I can help.

 

[gsmith]

Thank you so much!

 

[robyn]

I don't take PhD students myself, but I'll suggest a few other names in addition to the good suggestions you've already received - David Gire at UW is doing outstanding work on olfaction and neurobiology of arms. Galit Pelled at MSU is doing brand-new work on arm networks as well, although her lab is not exclusively about octopuses.
Trevor Wardill at Minnesota is starting to do work on visual cognition and sensori-motor integration. Tessa Montague at Columbia is a postdoc doing chromatophore work (I think) so you might also contact her and see if her PI is looking to expand more into cephs. Likewise Judit Pungor in Cris Niell's lab at Oregon - not primarily a ceph lab but with a growing side-interest.

 

[pkilian]

I know Tessa is working on setting up a lab to do research on Bandensis epigenetics- similar to what Rosenthal is working on at MBL. She would be a good contact as well, good idea!

 

[gsmith]

Thank you so much for your helpful advice!!

 

[Olagarro]

Hello! My name is Gabriella and I am a student of animal cognition. I have a Master's in Animal Behavior and Conservation from Hunter College, and I'm interested in pursuing octopus cognition for my PhD. Would anyone be aware of PIs currently recruiting students for this kind of research or schools I should look into? Thanks in advance!

Gabriella

Home | Gabriella Smith, M.A.

gsmith156.wixsite.com

Gabriella, you should contact Graziano Fiorito from Naples graziano.fio[email protected]
or Jennifer Mather [email protected] who have extensively work on octopus cognition or they could redirect you with the proper person.

Good luck

Unai