Image: Anna Schroll

Research Award for Yuko Ulrich

Dr. Yuko Ulrich, a biologist from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, convinced the jury with her research on the interaction between social organization and disease resistance in social insects.

Dr. Yuko Ulrich is the first recipient of the new research award of the Zukunftskolleg of the University of Konstanz. The biologist studies the spread of diseases and disease resistance in social insects. The newly introduced Zukunftskolleg Research Award recognizes scientific achievements of young researchers and supports them in further developing their personal profile. In 2022, the prize will be awarded for outstanding research on the topic of "Evolution of Behavior".

The award winner
Yuko Ulrich received her PhD from ETH Zurich, where she studied the evolutionary ecology of bumblebees under the supervision of Paul Schmid-Hempel. As a postdoc in Daniel Kronauer's group at Rockefeller University, New York, she helped establish the raider ant as a model for studying social behavior. She founded an independent research group at the University of Lausanne, which moved to ETH Zurich and finally to the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena.

In her research group, Yuko Ulrich addresses questions such as:

1. How does the composition of a social group affect its structure and the rates and pathways of disease transmission within that group?

2. How does infection or immune status affect individual and collective behavior within and across generations?

3. How do larvae control adult behavior and reproduction? And how does this affect their own development and the survival of the adult insects?

The award
The Zukunftskolleg Research Award honors young researchers who have achieved outstanding scientific achievements in their field. This includes networked thinking and research, convincing solution orientation, and approaches to how we will master the challenges of tomorrow.

The award enables the recipients to deepen existing research projects, explore new experimental avenues, develop new questions, and/or establish further connections in their scientific networks.

Specifically, the Zukunftskolleg Research Award consists of a three-month research stay in Konstanz. The award winner receives research funding of 3,000 euros, reimbursement of travel expenses, and housing allowance.

The Zukunftskolleg
The Zukunftskolleg is a unique institute for advanced studies at the University of Konstanz for the promotion of young scientists between doctorate and professorship. It offers young scientists an interdisciplinary working environment with excellent research conditions and the greatest possible freedom. The Zukunftskolleg is funded by the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments and by the Hector Foundation II.

Facts:

  • Dr. Yuko Ulrich is the first recipient of the Zukunftskolleg's new research award.
  • She studies the interaction between social organization and disease resistance in social insects.
  • The Zukunftskolleg Research Award is presented once a year.
  • This year's award will be presented to Yuko Ulrich on July 15, 2022.
  • Yuko Ulrich will be able to complete a three-month research stay in Constance, during which she will receive research funding of 3,000 Euro, reimbursement of travel expenses, and housing allowance.
  • Information about Yuko Ulrich
  • Further Information about the Zukunftskolleg Research Award