Simon Gadbois is a researcher in animal behaviour and animal learning at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. Early in his academic career he integrated biology (ethology), experimental animal psychology and neuroscience within a post-cognitivist perspective. A true generalist, he has studied olfaction, learning, and social behaviour in species of fish, reptiles, birds (pigeons) and mammals (rats, dogs, red foxes, coyotes and wolves). He has studied wild canids for over 20 years and established the Canid and Reptile Behaviour and Olfaction lab at Dalhousie in 2006, a year before the closure of the Canadian Centre for Wolf Research where he did most of his research on wolves. Since 2007 his lab has been engaged mostly in research on biomedical detection, diagnosis and assistance with canines, as well as tracking and trailing of species-at-risk with his wildlife conservation canines. The lab has an applied and methodological focus

Research are focused on the issue of breeding domestic animals in the context of mechanisms of the semiochemical communication with particular reference to sex pheromones.

Research interests

Genetics and epigenetics of animal behaviour and welfare.
Impact of human-animal interactions on animal behaviour, welfare and utilization.
Animals’ sense of smell, its biological role and biodetection of odours
Operant conditioning of dogs for detection, discrimination and identification of odours

Protection of genetic resources in horse breeding

Scientific achievements

319 publications, including 73 publications in journals on the JCR list. Author of  4 books and 10 book chapters. Total number of citations: approximately 1200,  Hirsch index – 17

Selected research achievements

He is a pioneer of scientific research on canine sense of smell and using trained dogs for detection and identification of odours by Polish Police. In 2016 he published in the USA, as the first editor  in cooperation with American researchers  John Ensminger and Gene Papet a unique scientific book worldwide, on all  aspects of canine sense of smell and its practical use. He developed an objective method for assessment the reliabilidity and validity of  canine detection or discrimination of various odours, both in odour lineup in a laboratory setting (individual human scent, odour markers of cancer diseases in humans), as well as in field settings (odours of narcotics and explosives). In cooperation with the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences he has identified unknown mechanisms of intra-species olfactory communications in dogs and horses. More recently he analysed the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on welfare of companion animals (dogs and cats).

Academic teacher, researcher in the fields of animal hygiene and welfare, animal production, slaughtering, animal physiology and neurophysiology and legal protection of animals. Coexecutor and main executor of research grants from governmental and international funds. Author and coauthor of numerous publications and scientific events. Member of International Society for Animal Hygiene, Polish Society of Veterinary Sciences, Polish Society of Clinical Neurophysiology and Polish Association of Military Chemists, Ethical Committee for Animal Experiments and a governmental expert in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Animal Health and Welfare Panel.

Assistant Professor in Department of Zoology and Microbiology.

Areas of Research

Ph.D. Thesis: A study on the reproductive behaviour and pheromones of an endangered Indian Blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra L.) to enhance captive breeding and conservation

M.Phil, Dissertation   : Biodiversity of ants in sattur taluk, virudhunagar district

M.Sc., Dissertation    : Study of biodiversity in three perennial ponds of virudhunagar district

Anna Hielm-Björkman is an adjunct Professor in Small Animal Surgery (docent in clinical trials for companion animals) and works at the University of Helsinki in Finland where she leads the DogRisk research group. Her work is part of the Helsinki One Health collaboration. She defended her PhD DVM theses on complementary therapies for dogs suffering from chronic pain due to OA. Nowadays a lot of her research involves canine nutrition, epidemiology and –omics, or molecular medicine, studies. She also leads the research on cancer and covid-19 sniffing dogs at WiseNose Ry. Anna is/has been supervising 10 PhD students and over 70 DVM theses. She is a keen lecturer, both nationally and internationally. Her life-work is to be an academic game-changer in preventive nutrition medicine in pets and to combine evidence based methods with controversial questions. Right now, her main work is around raw and ketogenic diets for dogs and validating Corona sniffing dogs so that they can be used in public places such as airports, ports, at sport and cultural events etc. to scan people.

Lt. Col. BG Wioletta Grabowska – since 2002 associated with the service cynology, firstly at the Border Guard Service Dog Training Center and since 2009 at the Border Guard Specialist Training Center in Lubań. She completed specialist training for guides in the field of dog drug service, gaining experience in working with a special dog service. She served in the structures of canine service at all levels through an assistant, instructor, lecturer and the Manager of the Training Team for Guides Dog Service, up to the current position of the Head of the Cynology Department in Special Training Centre of Border Guard in Lubań. Privately, mother of a student of the Military University of Technology and a 5-year-old Golden Retriever and a cat.

Major BG Anna Dobrzańska

I have worked for Border Guard since 2003, firstly as an instructor, than lecturer; actually the manager of the Dog Handlers and Dogs Training Section in Cynology Department. I am responsible for leading of the section consisting of 13 instructors and lecturers, also teaching laws and regulations related to the employment of the service dogs.

I have completed specialised training for dog handlers and dogs searching for drugs.

On behalf of Polish Border Guard – expert in EU Explosives Detection Dogs Working Group, developing join standards for explosive detection dogs working in law enforcement agencies responsible for protection of public spaces.

I have also took part in some training activities organized by Frontex.