Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

mammals. Other analyses of cooperative behavioural impact onthe success of younger siblings, as measured by growth, nutritionalstatus, educational level and health status, are still in progress.Finding the key to family dynamicsParental investment is a limited resource, and is crucial foroffspring survival and success in humans. Overall, Dr Faurie’sstudies underline how parents adjust their investment accordingto the biological and cultural factors characterising each specifi cenvironment. Those parental strategies evolved by naturalselection because they maximise the representation of genesin future generations.‘We all know that babies need a lot of care for an exceptionallylong period of time to grow and develop optimally. Our researchshows that it often takes more than just the mother and fatherto encourage development,’ says Dr Faurie. ‘I hope to furtherclarify the role of other family members in this task, and determinethe consequences of variations in the amount of care receivedfor children in the longer term.’Dr Faurie believes her fi ndings, made possible by the MarieCurie grant, will improve the understanding of the evolution offamily living in humans and have relevance for several fi eldsof science, including evolutionary biology, medical science,psychology and social science. She was also delighted to notethat the general public fi nds her research of interest although, asshe is quick to add, ‘This interest is hardly surprising becausefamily dynamics affect us all on a daily basis.’Dr Faurie’s research is already bearing fruit with the releaseof several publications resulting from her close collaborationwith the host team, especially its director, Dr Virpi Lummaa,during her 17 months with Marie Curie. She is still fi nding theanswers to questions about the sibling’s place in a humanfamily and is currently analysing the effects of birth order onindividual behaviour, growth and reproductive measures. Inaddition, she has broadened her research now to include theimpact of sexual selection on the evolution of cooperativebehaviour outside the family. A PhD on this topic will beginunder her supervision.74