Teaching people has been my passion for over a decade now and researching one of the most misunderstood and villainized creatures has fuelled my passion to create a bridge to help people to get better along with spiders through education, and at the same time create safe and pesticide-free pest management options for widow spider.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO SFU?

Because of my supervisor Dr. Gerhard Gries, who is not only one of the world leading experts of animal communication, but also created for me the opportunity to research exactly what I wanted with the organism I wanted - a very rare combination.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH AND/OR PROGRAM.

I study how spiders communicate with chemicals (smell), learn their 'language' and tell them to please move somewhere else.

WHAT ARE YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOYING ABOUT YOUR STUDIES/RESEARCH AT SFU?

Not only has our lab all the staff and specialized equipment needed for our field of study, but the inter-departmental cooperation, contact with industrial partners and opportunity to reach out to and engage the public about the science we are investigating is one of my favourite things at SFU.

HAVE YOU BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF ANY MAJOR OR DONOR FUNDED AWARDS?

The Alexander Graham Bell Scholarship allowed me to focus fully on my research, which was especially appeasing in this last year of uncertainty.

Contact Andreas: afischer@sfu.ca
Instagram: @andi.fischer10