Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Barron is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, and Deputy Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University. He is a neuroethologist, which is a discipline of neuroscience studying the neural mechanisms of natural animal behaviour. Most of his research focuses on insects, especially honey bees. Using advanced techniques to visualise, manipulate, map and record from the insect brain Barron’s team has made important contributions to the understanding of fundamental behavioural systems such as cognition, navigation, social behaviour and learning and memory.
He also conducts research to improve honey bee health and welfare. He is studying how bees and bee colonies are impacted by pesticide and disease stressors, and how to best intervene to help bee colonies under stress.
Research interests
Understanding animal minds
What is it like to be a bee? Are simple animals like insects cognitive and reflective entities, or are they more like robots: simple reflexive stimulus-response entities? Studying animal behaviour combined with studies of the mechanisms supporting behavioural capacities will give critical understanding of the nature of animal minds.
Modelling the insect brain
The insect brain is a complex cognitive microprocessor. This project combines experimental neuroscience with computational and mathematical modelling to explore the circuits and systems of the insect brain function and generate behaviour.
Honey bee health and welfare
This is not an easy time to be a bee. Pesticides, diseases, habitat degradation and climate change are all piling stressors onto honey bees. Honey bee colonies are failing at such levels there is concern we may not have enough bees to pollinate our food crops. This research program explores how we can best support bee health in the current challenging environment.
Education/Academic qualification
Department of Zoology, PhD, University of Cambridge
1995 → 1999
Natural Sciences, First Class Honours, University of Cambridge
1992 → 1995
External positions
Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Australian Research Council
2015 → …President, Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour, AUSTRALASIAN SOCIETY OF THE STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
2012 → 2014Vice-President, Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour, AUSTRALASIAN SOCIETY OF THE STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
2010 → 2012Treasurer, Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour, AUSTRALASIAN SOCIETY OF THE STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
2008 → 2010Postdoctoral Fellow, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University
2004 → 2007Fullbright Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Illinois
2001 → 2004Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Sydney
1999 → 2001Fingerprint Dive into the research topics where Andrew Barron is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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Projects
ActiveAI - active learning and selective attention for robust, transparent and efficient AI
Barron, A. & Philippides, A.
1/11/19 → 31/10/22
Project: Other
Centre for NeuroRobotics plan A': matching funding for an international collaborative project
1/07/19 → 30/06/22
Project: Research
A new understanding of complex systems through study of self-assembled swarm architecture in ants
30/06/17 → …
Project: Research
Automated Fluorescence Stereo Microscope
Narendra, A., Taylor, P., Lindsay, S., Barron, A., Herberstein, M., Hart, N., Williamson, J., Griffith, S., Whiting, M., Brock, G. & Jacob, D.
1/01/17 → …
Project: Research
Research Outputs
A hybrid compact neural architecture for visual place recognition
Chancan, M., Hernandez-Nunez, L., Narendra, A., Barron, A. B. & Milford, M., Apr 2020, In : IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 5, 2, p. 993-1000 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
2
Citations
(Scopus)
First-person interventions and the meta-problem of consciousness
Klein, C. & Barron, A. B., 2020, In : Journal of Consciousness Studies. 27, 5-6, p. 82-90 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
1
Citation
(Scopus)
Prosociality and a sociosexual hypothesis for the evolution of same-sex attraction in humans
Barron, A. B. & Hare, B., 16 Jan 2020, In : Frontiers in Psychology. 10, p. 1-7 7 p., 2955.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open Access
File
1
Citation
(Scopus)
41
Downloads
(Pure)
The miticide thymol in combination with trace levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid reduces visual learning performance in honey bees (Apis mellifera)
Colin, T., Plath, J. A., Klein, S., Vine, P., Devaud, J. M., Lihoreau, M., Meikle, W. G. & Barron, A. B., 27 Feb 2020, In : Apidologie. 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
A comparison of honeybee (Apis mellifera) queen, worker and drone larvae by RNA-Seq
He, X. J., Jiang, W. J., Zhou, M., Barron, A. B. & Zeng, Z. J., Jun 2019, In : Insect Science. 26, 3, p. 499-509 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
1
Citation
(Scopus)
Prizes
Centre for Visual Science New Initiatives Fellowship
Andrew Barron (Recipient), 2003
Prize: Other distinction
Excellence in Research in Science and Engineering: Highly Commended
Andrew Barron (Recipient), 2014
Prize
Activities
Australian Neuroscience Society Annual Scientific Meeting
Andrew Barron (Organiser)2017
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
Animal Consciousness Conference
Andrew Barron (Invited speaker)2017
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
International Congress of Neuroethology (Event)
Andrew Barron (Member)2017
Activity: Membership › Membership of committee
Re-use and Evolvability Workshop
Andrew Barron (Invited speaker)2017
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Press / Media
The Connectomic Revolution: What the Insect Brain Can Tell Us About Ourselves
12/06/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
Ten years after the crisis, what is happening to the world’s bees?
Andrew Barron & Simon Klein
8/05/17
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
What it is like to be a bee: insects can teach us about the origins of consciousness
Andrew Barron & Colin Klein
19/04/16
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other
Insects could shed light on evolution of consciousness
18/04/16
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Do Honeybees Feel? Scientists Are Entertaining the Idea
18/04/16
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment