Members

Prof. Christelle AM Robert leads the group of Chemical Ecology at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Her group focuses on identifying plant chemicals that drive interactions between plants and organisms of higher trophic levels (incl. bacteria, herbivores, parasites). The ultimate goal of her research is to provide fundamental and translational knowledge to tackle imminent societal challenges, such as food production, climate change, and human health. Understanding what chemicals drive interactions between crops, herbivores, and their natural enemies, can help developing new sustainable strategies for pest management. Similarly, investigating how climate will alter such interactions may help predicting and preventing pest outbreaks in the field. Finally, identifying plant chemicals which are transferred in the human (plant-based) diet and tackling their impact on human health can lead to the discovery of new medicines. Prof. Robert strongly believes that scientific curiosity combined with strong inference and empirical approaches will help to push the frontiers of knowledge in Life Sciences.