Amy Eacock (University of Liverpool) wins the AllGenetics-EMPSEB Award 2016

«Extraocular photoreception in a twig-mimicking caterpillar» was selected as the best talk presented at the EMPSEB22 in Gotland (Sweden).

The 22nd edition of the European Meeting of PhD Students in Evolutionary Biology (EMPSEB) took place on the island of Gotland (Sweden) last week. This conference, in which outstanding PhD students in Evolution from all over the continent present their work, has been sponsored by AllGenetics since 2012. The AllGenetics-EMPSEB Award is bestowed every year on the PhD student giving the best talk at the conference. The award is a one-week trip to the Galician county of Ortigueira, where the awardee and five friends are invited to enjoy the charm and beautiful atmosphere at The Farm Cottage.

This year, «Extraocular photoreception in a twig-mimicking caterpillar» presented by Amy Eacock was selected by the EMPSEB committee as the best talk at the conference.

Amy Eacock is a third year PhD student in the department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour at the University of Liverpool. She works in Ilik Saccheri’s lab group and is interested in camouflage and phenotypic plasticity. Amy is currently studying colour change in peppered moth caterpillars and has used a variety of techniques to address queries concerning their behaviour, physiology, and genetics.

Previous winners of the AllGenetics-EMPSEB Award were:

  • Mareike Wurdack (Universität Freiburg) in 2012
  • Pepijn Kamminga (Universiteit Leiden) in 2013
  • Margo Maex (Vrije universiteit Brussel) in 2014
  • John Bruce (University of Oxford) in 2015