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Judit Vas

Judit Vas

Forsker

  • Etologi og dyrevelferd

Judit Vas studied Biology in Budapest, Hungary. During her Master programme, she took courses in taxonomy, ecology and evolutionary biology. She wrote her Master’s dissertation in the Department of Ethology at Eotvos University in the topic of dog-human communication and breed differences in behaviour. Afterwards, she delved deeper into this topic for her PhD, focussing on effects of genetic polymorphisms on dog personality traits. After obtaining her PhD in Ethology in 2008, she sought experience with other species by working at the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. There, her studies with laboratory mice shed light on possible relationships between the serotonergic and cannabinoid systems in shaping anxiety-like behaviour. She also worked with laboratory rats as a model organism for investigations into behavioural coping styles. Judit moved to the Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in 2011, where she was employed on the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) project to study effects of group density and group size on the behaviour of pregnant dairy goats and their offspring. She was also responsible for dissemination of welfare-related results from the AWIN project, including development of the webpage (www.animalwelfarehub.com) and several educational tools. Currently, she is employed in the same department on a European Union Animal Health and Welfare (ANIHWA) project entitled „Integrated Mobile Broiler Data” (iMBDatA), where she is investigating effects of environmental enrichment on the behaviour and welfare of broiler chickens. She is also working in the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences as the project manager of the  GroupHouseNet project funded by the European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST), which aims to reduce welfare problems in group housed animals. Judit’s research interests are centred on ethology, animal welfare, environmental enrichment, social behaviour and behavioural development. 

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Judit Vas studerte biologi i Budapest, Ungarn. Under sine masterstudier spesialiserte hun seg i taksonomi, økologi og evolusjonær biologi, og hun skrev sin avhandling ved Institutt for etologi ved Eotvos universitet på temaet hund-menneske kommunikasjon og atferdsforskjeller mellom raser. Etterpå fortsatte hun med å studere påvirkningen av genetiske polymorfismer på atferd hos hund. Etter at hun fikk sin PhD i etologi i 2008 bestemte hun seg for å få erfaring med andre arter og begynte å jobbe ved Institutt for eksperimentell medisin fra det Ungarske vitenskapsakademiet i Budapest, hvor hun jobbet med gnagere. Utgangspunktet for hennes forsøksfokus var det mulige forholdet mellom serotonerg og cannabinoid-systemet i å skape angstliknende oppførsel hos mus noe som endte med en større atferdsfokus på coping-stiler hos rotter. Judit flyttet til Norge i 2011 for å jobbe ved Norges Miljø- og Biovitenskapelige Universitet på Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN)-prosjektet. Hun studerte effekter av gruppetetthet og gruppestørrelse på adferd av drektige melkegeiter og effekter på atferd til geitkjeene etter fødsel. Judit jobbet også for å formidle velferdsrelaterte resultater til et bredere publikum og bidro til utviklingen av nettsiden (www.animalwelfarehub.com) og flere læringsobjekter. Nylig jobber hun som prosjektleder for GroupHouseNet prosjekt på Veterinærhøyskolen. I tillegg jobber hun i prosjektet "Integrated Mobile Broiler Data" (iMBDatA) hvor man studerer effekter av miljøberikning på atferd og velferd hos slaktekyllinger. Hennes erfaring, kunnskap og interesse er etologi, velferd, miljøberikning, sosial atferd og utvikling av atferd.

  • Fagfelt
    • Ethology
    • Social behaviour
    • Development
    • Welfare
    • Enrichments
  • Publikasjoner

    Liste med publikasjoner fra min forskning. (Cristin)

    Scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals:

    Chojnacki, R.M., Vas, J., Andersen, I.L. 2014. The Effects of Prenatal Stocking Densities on the Fear Responses and Sociality of Goat (Capra hircus) Kids. PLoS ONE, 9(4):e94253.

    Gácsi, M., Vas, J., Topál, J., Miklósi, Á. 2013. Wolves do not join the dance: Sophisticated aggression control by adjusting to human social signals in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 145(3–4):109–122.

    Goold, C., Vas, J., Olsen, J., Newberry, R. 2016. Using network analysis to study behavioural phenotypes: an example using domestic dogs. Royal Society Open Science, 10/2016:e160268


    Héjjas, K., Kubinyi, E., Rónai, Zs., Székely, A., Vas, J., Miklósi, Á., Sasvári-Székely, M., Kereszturi, E. 2009. Molecular and behavioral analysis of the intron 2 repeat polymorphism in canine dopamine D4 receptor gene. Genes, Brain, Behaviour, 8: 330-336.


    Hejjas, K., Vas, J., Sasvari-Szekely, M., Miklosi, A., Ronai, Z. 2007. Novel repeat polymorphisms of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter genes among dogs and wolves. Mammalian Genome, 18, 871-9. 


    Hejjas, K., Vas, J., Topal, J., Ronai, Z., Szekely, A., Kubinyi, E., Horvath, Z., Sasvari-Szekely, M., Miklosi, A. 2007. Association of the dopamine D4 receptor gene polymorphism and the “activity” endophenotype in dogs. Animal Genetics, 38, 629–633.


    Kis, A., Bence, M., Lakatos, G., Pergel, E., Turcsán, B., Pliujmakers, J., Vas, J., Elek, Z., Brúder, I., Földi, L., Sasvári-Székely, M., Miklósi, Á., Rónai, Z., Kubinyi, E. 2014. Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Human Directed Social Behavior in Dogs (Canis familiaris). PLoS ONE, 01/2014; 9(1):e83993. 


    Kubinyi, E., Vas, J., Héjjas, K., Ronai, Zs., Brúder, I., Turcsán, B., Sasvári-Székely, M., Miklósi, Á. 2012. Polymorphism in the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene is associated with activity-impulsivity in German shepherd dogs. PLos ONE, 7: e30271.


    Mikics, E., Vas, J., Aliczki, M., Halasz, J., Haller, J. 2009. Interactions between the anxiogenic effects of CB1 gene disruption and 5-HT3 neurotransmission. Behavioural Pharmacology, 20(3):265-72.


    Vas, J., Andersen, I.L. 2015. Density-dependent spacing behaviour and activity budget in pregnant, domestic goats (Capra hircus). PLos ONE, e0144583.


    Vas, J., Topál, J., Győri, B. and Miklósi, Á. 2008. In search for the stability of personality traits in dogs: testing the consistency of dogs’ reaction to threatening cues of an unfamiliar person. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 112: 331–344.


    Vas, J., Topál, J., Péch, É., Miklósi, Á. 2007. Measuring attention deficit and activity in dogs: A new application and validation of a human ADHD questionnaire. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 103, 105-117.


    Vas, J., Topál, J., Gácsi, M., Miklósi, Á., Csányi, V. 2005. A friend or an enemy? Dogs’ reaction to an unfamiliar person showing behavioural cues of threat and friendliness at different times. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 94, 99-115.


    Vas, J., Chojnacki, R., Kjøren, M.F., Lyngwa, C., Andersen, I.L. 2013. Social interactions, cortisol and reproductive success of domestic goats (Capra hircus) subjected to different animal densities during pregnancy. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 147(1-2):117-126.

    Scientific abstracts in peer-reviewed journals

    Goold, C., Vas, J. B., Olsen, C., Newberry, R. C. 2015. A network approach to understanding dog personality. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 10(5):446.


    Kubinyi, E., Dán, O., Kurys, A., Vas, J., Péch, É., Tóth, L., Miklósi, Á. 2009. Subjective rating and objective coding approaches in measuring activity and attention deficit of belgian shepherd dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 4(2):71-71.


    Mikics, E., Halasz, J., Toth, M., Aliczki, M., Vas, J., Haller, J. 2008. Interactions between serotonin 5HT3 and cannabinoid CB1 receptor function in the control of anxiety in mice. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 18., Supplement 4, S490


    Tiefenthaler, M., Range, F., Vas, J., Miklósi, Á., Huber, L. 2009. Working dogs personalities: Individual differences in learning performance. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 4(2):87-87.


    Vas, J., Kubinyi, E., Héjjas, K., Sasváry-Székely, M., Miklósi, Á. 2009. Association of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene polymorphism and activity trait measured by questionnaire and behavioral tests in German shepherd dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 4(2):75-75.


    Vyplelova, P., Svobodova, I., Pinc, L., Vas, J. 2009. Association between the gene expressing dopamine D4 receptor and efficiency of the Czech Republic Police canines. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 4(2):82-83.



  • Forskning og prosjekter