Alison Mercer Explained

Alison Mercer
Fields:Zoology
Workplaces:University of Otago
Alma Mater:University of Otago
Thesis1 Title:Visceral innervation in molluscs.
Thesis1 Url:http://otago.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/DUNEDIN:All:OTAGO_ALMA21116006390001891
Thesis1 Year:1979

Alison Ruth Mercer (born 1954) is a New Zealand zoologist based at the University of Otago,[1] with a particular interest in the brain physiology of bees.[2] She was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2022.[3]

Education

Mercer received her PhD in zoology in 1979 from the University of Otago. Her thesis Visceral innervation in molluscs was concerned with molluscs.[4]

Academic career

She has been an emeritus professor at the University of Otago since 2018.[5] Her research interests span from understanding the brain and behaviour of honey bees, development genetics, as well as learning and memory.[6]

She has repeatedly made headlines in the popular press with her studies of the effects of chemicals on bees.[7] [8] [9] She was nicknamed the "Queen of all pheromones" by Otago Daily Times for her work in discovering that exposing a young bee to the pheromone of a queen bee actually alters the composition of the young bee's brain.[10] She has also published on the varroa mite a problematic parasite of honeybees.[11] [12]

Awards and honours

In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mercer was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to science.[13]

In 2022, Mercer was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.[14]

Selected works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Professor Alison Mercer, Our People, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, New Zealand . Otago.ac.nz . 16 February 2016 . 20 October 2017.
  2. free.
  3. Web site: 2022 NAS Election .
  4. Web site: Visceral innervation in molluscs. – Dunedin Campus. Otago.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com. 20 October 2017.
  5. Web site: 2018. University of Otago Annual Report 2018. live. 2021-09-25. University of Otago. 19. https://web.archive.org/web/20200919222906/https://www.otago.ac.nz/about/official-documents/otago710847.pdf . 19 September 2020 .
  6. Web site: Professor Alison Mercer. www.otago.ac.nz. en-nz. 2018-07-26.
  7. Web site: Queen Bees "Brainwash" Workers With Chemicals . https://web.archive.org/web/20070822163858/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070719-bee-control.html . dead . 22 August 2007 . News.nationalgeographic.com . 20 October 2017.
  8. Web site: Amber Dance. . Queen bees use mind control to keep young workers in line . . 21 July 2007 . 20 October 2017.
  9. Web site: Pesticide 'Dumbs Down' Bees, Causes Deficits In Memory And Learning : SCIENCE . Tech Times . 3 March 2016 . 20 October 2017.
  10. News: The queen of all pheromones. 2008-12-08. Otago Daily Times. 2018-07-26. en.
  11. Web site: Rachel Graham . Researchers hope for varroa bee mite breakthrough . . 8 February 2016 . 20 October 2017.
  12. On the Front Line: Quantitative Virus Dynamics in Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies along a New Expansion Front of the Parasite Varroa destructor . PLOS Pathogens . 10 . 8 . e1004323 . 21 August 2014 . 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004323 . 25144447 . 4140857 . Mondet . Fanny . De Miranda . Joachim R. . Kretzschmar . Andre . Le Conte . Yves . Mercer . Alison R. . free .
  13. Web site: Queen's Birthday honours list 2008 . 2 June 2008 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 28 December 2019.
  14. Web site: 2022-05-14 . US academy honour for Otago scientist . 2022-05-13 . Otago Daily Times Online News . en.

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