Alice Poirier
General information
DOCC – Development of Olfactory Communication and Cognition
Position
Postdoctoral researcher – INRAe
PhD in Life Sciences (Behavioral ecology)
MSc in Biodiversity Ecology & Evolution
Research
I am interested in how animals, in particular primates, use their sense of smell in social interactions and foraging activities. My research integrates diverse fields including animal behaviour, ecology, physiology, biochemistry and evolution. I have conducted several field studies on wild primates in South America and taught field courses in tropical ecology.
I have taken an additional interest for olfactory communication in our own species; I am currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Development of Olfactory Communication & Cognition Lab at the Centre for Smell, Taste and Feeding Behaviour Science in Dijon, France, where I study odours involved in maternal–infant communication as part of the Wellcome Olfaction (WOLF) international project.
Keywords
Olfactory communication, smell, mother-infant bond, behavioural ecology, sociality, primates
Featured publications
Roberts SC, Damon F, Durand K, Havlíček J, Kourtis D, Langford B, Sorokowska A, Sorokowski P, Swanson V, Williams J, Arnoldi-Meadows T, Brimaud D, Dlouhá D, Jelínková L, Kaňková S, Kapicová L, Poirier AC, Roberts K, Sander J, Schwambergová D, Silvestri M, Wang N, Simon E, Schaal B (2025). Breastfeeding, bonding, and olfaction: unlocking the potential of mother-infant odour exchange. EBioMedicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.106086
Carboni S, Poirier AC, Peralta-Aguilar AP, Watsa M, Erkenswick GA, Melin AD (2025). The scent gland microbiomes of wild tamarins provide new insight into microbial contributions to olfactory communication. Ecology and Evolution, 15 (11), e72335. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72335
Poirier AC, Kulick NK, Romero Morales S, Kücklich M, Weiß BM, Birkemeyer C, Widdig A, Melin AD, Jack KM (2025). Urine washing and urinary odour profiles in relation to dominance rank status in wild male capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator). Royal Society Open Science, 12 (7), 250608. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250608
Fernandes A, Poirier AC, Veilleux CC, Melin AD (2025). Contributions and future potential of animal models for geroscience research on sensory systems. GeroScience, 47, 61-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-024-01327-5
Poirier AC, Melin AD. Smell throughout the life course (2024). Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, e22030. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.22030
Poirier AC, Dunn JC, Watsa M, Erkenswick GA, Melin AD, Waterhouse JS, Smith AC (2022). Olfactory communication in tamarins: a comparative analysis of scents from wild and captive tamarin populations. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 11 (1), 202-210. https://doi.org/10.19227/jzar.v11i1.652
Poirier AC, Waterhouse JS, Dunn JC, Smith AC (2021). Scent marks signal species, sex and reproductive status in tamarins (Saguinus spp., Neotropical Primates). Chemical Senses, 46, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjab008
Poirier AC, Waterhouse JS, Watsa M, Erkenswick GA, Moreira LAA, Tang J, Dunn JC, Melin AD, Smith AC (2021). On the trail of primate scent signals: A field analysis of callitrichid scent‐gland secretions by portable gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. American Journal of Primatology, 83 (3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23236
Poirier AC (2019). Scent-marking behaviour and semiochemistry in the Callitrichidae (PhD thesis). Anglia Ruskin University, UK, Cambridge, UK.