Profile
Natalie Pilakouta
This has been fun - thanks to those who voted for me.
My CV
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Education:
Yale University (2010-2013), University of Edinburgh (2013-present)
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Qualifications:
Bachelor of Science, Master of Science
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Work History:
Yale University (Teaching Fellow), University of Edinburgh (Demonstrator/Teaching Assistant)
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Current Job:
PhD Student
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The work on animal sex is being done in fishes and specifically on swordtails. In this species, males have a long tail called a ‘sword’ which females do not have (see pictures below). I typically put a female in a tank on her own and then I show her videos of different males to see which one she spends more time interacting with. I then show her a video of a scary predator, followed by videos of the same males again to see if this changes who the females prefer.
Another thing I’m currently working on is parental care in insects. I study what makes some parents better or worse than others and whether the offspring of good parents perform better later in life. I’m also interested in the conflict between parents and offspring, as well as the competition between siblings.
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My Typical Day:
I spend a lot of my time in the lab, feeding and breeding my animals.
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For my work on insects, I pair up males and females so that they mate and produce offspring. I then watch each of these families, recording the growth rates of the babies and the behaviour of the parents to see how involved they are in taking care of their offspring. I then track these offspring until they grow up to become adults and have their own babies to see if their parenting abilities match those of their parents. So my typical day involves watching parents feeding their babies and weighing the offspring at different developmental stages.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would use the money to build a website where I post videos and descriptions of interesting animal behaviours on a daily basis.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Ambitious, hard-working, passionate
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes…
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Taylor Swift
What's your favourite food?
Pizza
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1) I would absolutely love to be able to communicate with animals, especially my pets! 2) I really want to visit New Zealand and Madagascar at some point in my life. 3) Go to space for a day!
Tell us a joke.
Q: Where do hippos go to university? A: Hippocampus
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