Thorbjörn Sievert

I started my second postdoctoral position in October 2022 at the GIGA Neuroscience Institute, University of Liège, within the newly established research group led by Dr. Jean-Marc Lassance.
My research focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms connecting olfaction and behavior in two Peromyscus species. I use modern machine-learning approaches, such as DeepLabCut and MoSeq, to analyse behavioral data.

My first Postdoctoral position was supposed to be a continuation of my PhD project, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic all experiments had to be aborted or cancelled.

I earned my PhD in April 2020 from the University of Jyväskylä, under the guidance of Prof. Hannu Ylönen and Dr. Marko Haapakoski. The recording of my thesis defense can be accessed here.
My thesis (available here) delved into predator-prey interactions between the common weasel (Mustela nivalis nivalis) and the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Currently, my focus is on odor-transmitted information, encompassing predator-based odors (kairomones) and prey-based odors (likely pheromones).

My primary interest lies in understanding the cross-generational effects of predator presence. I investigated how early-life exposure to different fear-inducing odors influences behavior later in life.

I received my Master's degree from Linköping University, where my thesis, titled Behavioral responses of mice to predator odor components, was supervised by Prof. Matthias Laska.

I obtained my Bachelor's degree from the University of Bonn. For my thesis, I conducted research on ungulate density estimates using camera traps, under the guidance of Dr. Renate van der Elzen, in collaboration with the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig.