Hi Jessica, what is your background and job role at AU?

I'm a junior fellow at the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies.  

I grew up in London and gradually drifted west (PhD on the east coast of the US, postdoc in Arizona) before jumping back east almost two years ago when I came to Aarhus. My academic background is biology (behavioral ecology).  

What are your main areas of research?

I'm interested in cooperative behavior, currently mostly in humans, although I started out studying cooperation in social insects (wasps and bees) and between species (e.g. mutualisms between insects and plants, like pollination).

My main interest at the moment is cooperation between groups: we know a lot about what promotes cooperation within groups, and that people tend to cooperate with members of their own groups (the "minimal group" effect in lab games), but relatively little about when and why people might cooperate with members of other groups. I do have several collaborations; the two AU researchers I'm currently working with are Caitlin Stern and Djuke Veldhuis (both also Lab affiliates).  

Are you involved with any teaching at the moment?

Not at the moment, although I really enjoy teaching and have given guest lectures in a few courses (for Trine Bilde, Riccardo Fusaroli and Lars Bach).  

How did you hear about Cognition and Behavior Lab?

I first heard about it when I contacted some AU researchers before I applied to come here. After I knew I'd be coming here, I then met Dan at the Santa Fe Institute in the US, where I think we were both surprised to find someone else with an (existing or upcoming) Aarhus connection!  

Have you used the Lab? If so, what are the benefits for researchers?

I've used the Lab for a couple of economic games. In my previous two institutions, I ran experiments without access to a participant pool or dedicated computer lab, so having the Lab makes the whole process a lot easier.  

Is there a particular recommendation you would like to pass on to other researchers? Something you wish you had known before you started, or just a useful trick.

Figure out in detail how you'll analyze your data before you design your study - I'm always lazy about this, but it would make things so much easier!  

Could you recommend one academic book to fellow colleagues that you think is of great interest?

Somewhere between pop science and academia, Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene is a well written introduction to the logic behind behavioral ecology by one of the early big names in the field. For a more academic overview, Davies et al.'s Introduction to Behavioral Ecology is great.  

Away from your research, what do you enjoy doing?

I'm typing this with one hand while the other is holding one of my six-week-old twins... I don't have time for much other than parental care at the moment, although I've managed to squeeze in a few runs and bike rides when Caitlin Stern (not just my academic collaborator!) and I have had someone else to help watch the babies. Since moving to Denmark, I swapped hiking in the desert for winter bathing at Jomsborg. I used to keep bees, and although I haven't in Aarhus, I'm currently attempting to brew mead for the first time.    

Finally, which Associated Researcher would you like to see under 'Spotlight' next time?

Caitlin Stern