MSc Laura Espinosa del Alba
Laura Espinosa del Alba
MSc
PhD Student
Phone: +49 641 99-37644
Email: Laura.Espinosa-del-Alba@agrar.uni-giessen.de
Room: B331
Building: IFZ
Short CV
| Since 02/2018 | Doctoral student under the supervision of Dr. Georg Petschenka |
| 02/2017-10/2017 | Internship at the World Organisation for Animal Health, Science and New Technologies Department (OIE Headquarters, France), working mainly on bee health |
| 02/2016-07/2016 | Job in the beekeeping sector, for the Associació d’Apicultors de Lleida (Lleida Beekeeping Association, Spain), running physico-chemical and melissopalynological analysis of honey, and managing internal documents and beekeeping support measures |
| 09/2010-07/2015 | Degree in Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain)
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Research Interests
My PhD project focusses on understanding insect resistance mechanisms to plant toxins in a co-evolutionary framework. Certain species of Heteroptera are not only resistant to toxins such as cardenolides or alkaloids produced by their host plants, but also sequester the compounds to defend against predators. During my doctoral research, I will carry out in depth analyses to investigate the mechanisms of sequestration in different Lygaeinae species. By using microscopic techniques, chemical analyses, feeding assays and physiological experiments involving isolated gut tissues, I will identify and characterise the process of sequestration on the level of cells, tissues, body systems and the whole organism.
Publications
(under review) L. Espinosa, S. Franco & M.P. Chauzat. - Could Vespa velutina nigrithorax be included in the OIE list of diseases, infections and infestations? OIE Scientific and Technical Review.
L. Espinosa (2015).- Colony Collapse Disorder: a review of the possible factors and agents involved. Degree thesis, in Catalan. (see also: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282211157_Colony_Collapse_Disorder_CCD_A_Review_of_the_Possible_Factors_and_Agents_Involved)