The main theme of my research is the evolution and chemical ecology of plant-insect interactions. I study the processes by which insects manipulate plant physiology and development, sometimes leading to the formation of highly specialized structures known as galls. Galls arise when an insect hijacks a plant’s own developmental program, redirecting cell division and differentiation to build a shelter and food source for its offspring, often with striking precision and species-specificity. Understanding how this manipulation happens at the molecular level, why it evolved, and what it means for the diversity of life that depends on it, sits at the intersection of chemical ecology, developmental biology, and evolutionary biology.

My work on this subject spans five interdependent projects, described below from most recent to earliest, together with the publications linked to each.

Genetic basis of sex determination in heterogonic gall wasps (Cynipidae, Diplolepididae)

Team members: Antoine Lagrange (PhD student, starting October 2026)

Main collaborator: Antoine Branca (Université Paris-Saclay)

Many gall wasps in Cynipidae and the related Diplolepididae reproduce through a heterogonic life cycle, alternating sexual and asexual (parthenogenetic) generations within the same species. This project, beginning as Antoine Lagrange’s PhD in October 2026, investigates the genetic mechanisms underlying sex determination in these wasps and how they relate to this alternation between generations.

Adaptive significance of Cynipid gall morphology

Main collaborators: Heather Hines, John Tooker, Andy Deans (Penn State University), Robert Warren (SUNY Buffalo State)

This project began serendipitously during my postdoctoral research at Penn State, growing out of observations made while studying cynipid gall induction. It examines the adaptive significance of the elaborate and often bizarre morphological structures gall wasps produce, testing hypotheses about their role in defense against natural enemies and other selective pressures shaping gall form.

Evolution and molecular bases of gall-induction in gall wasps (Cynipidae, Hymenoptera)

Main collaborators: Heather Hines, John Tooker, Andy Deans (Penn State University)

Conducted during my postdoctoral research at Penn State, this project investigated the evolutionary origins and molecular underpinnings of gall induction in cynipid wasps, examining how these insects manipulate plant developmental and defense pathways to construct galls.

Evolution of gall-induction in leaf-mining micromoth clade (Gracillariidae, Lepidoptera)

Main collaborators: David Giron (IRBI), Issei Ohshima (Kyoto Prefectural University), Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde (INRAE URZF)

My PhD research examined how the gall-inducing lifestyle evolved from leaf-mining within Gracillariidae, a family of micromoths that includes both leaf-miners and gall-inducers among closely related species, offering a rare opportunity to study the transition to gall induction directly.

Diversity of the genus Mayetiola in Europe

Main collaborators: Netta Dorchin (Tel Aviv Museum of Natural History), Sébastien Carbonelle

Mayetiola is a genus of gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) that includes some of the most damaging agricultural pests worldwide, such as the Hessian fly, yet the diversity and biology of its wild, non-pest relatives remain poorly documented. This project surveys and characterizes the diversity of Mayetiola species across Europe.