The primary objective of the Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior course is to provide state-of-the-art training in modern and emerging experimental approaches to study the nervous system of a major invertebrate model system, Drosophila melanogaster. The course is designed to introduce students to a wide variety of topics and techniques, including the latest approaches to study fly nervous system development, connectivity and behavior. Daily research seminars present comprehensive overviews of specific subfields of nervous system function and behavior, or focus on specific techniques and approaches to study diverse aspects of fly neurobiology. The course takes full advantage of the genetics of the fly as an experimental system for analyzing neural development, neuronal physiology and behavior. The course emphasizes the relevance of this powerful model system to advancing our understanding of the function and dysfunction of human brain. Significant emphasis will be placed on the disruption and reorganization of neural circuits upon chronic exposure to alcohol and drugs of abuse.
The broader impact of the course is the training of researchers from throughout the world in the most recent findings and techniques in Drosophila neurobiology. In addition, they are introduced to the available resources and tools of advanced research in fly neurobiology. The students are chosen to include those who will disseminate information acquired in the course most broadly. Many of the students are likely to have educational and supervisory responsibilities in the near future; others are already professors or post-doctoral fellows, who will pass on what they have learned in the course. Many of the students who take the course go on to lead their own laboratories and the course provides a foundation of knowledge for these new lab heads.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Course on Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior June 28 – July 16, 2013 INSTRUCTORS: Gregory Macleod, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX Kate O’Connor-Giles, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Adrian Rothenfluh, UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX ASSISTANTS: Joseph Bruckner, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI Scott Gratz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI Jennifer Jin, UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX Adam Rossano, University of Texas HSC at San Antonio, TX The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Course on Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior was successfully held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and achieved all its specific aims. This laboratory/lecture course was intended for researchers at all levels from beginning graduate students through established primary investigators who want to use Drosophila as an experimental system for nervous system investigation. The two and a half-week course was designed to introduce students to a wide variety of topics and techniques, including the latest approaches to study nervous system development, activity and connectivity, as well as complex behaviors and disease models. Daily research seminars presented comprehensive overviews of specific subfields of nervous system function or focus on specific techniques and approaches to study fly neurobiology. Expert guest lecturers discussed their findings and approaches, and brought along their own assays and techniques for students to learn in the laboratory part of the course. The hands-on portion of the course was centered around student-led projects, where gene mutants were discovered and analyzed throughout the course utilizing the different morphological and physiological measurements and behavioral paradigms at hand. This included electrophysiological and in vivo calcium recordings, anatomical examination and circuit mapping, as well as numerous quantitative behavioral measures. Collectively, the course provided a comprehensive and practical introduction to modern experimental methods for studying the Drosophila nervous system. PARTICIPANTS: Mariano Allo, PhD, Post Doctoral Fellow, European Molecular Biology, Heidelberg, GERMANY. Lab Head: Dr. Anne Ephrussi Matthew Clark, BS, Graduate Student, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR. Lab Head: Dr. Chris Doe * Elliot Imler, PhD, Graduate Student, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Lab Head: Dr. Konrad Zinsmaier Tabita Kreko, BS, Graduate Student, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX. Lab Head: Dr. Benjamin Eaton Kayly Lembke, BA, Graduate Student, OHSU-SOD, Portland, OR. Lab Head: Dr. David Morton * Ann Marie Macara, BS, Graduate Student, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Lab Head: Dr. Orie Shafer Jolanda Muenzel, PhD, Graduate Student, University of Edinburgh, UNITED KINGDOM. Lab Head: Dr. Williams Sigehiro Namiki, PhD, Post Doctoral Fellow,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn VA. Lab Head: Gwyneth Card Katarina Pankova, BSc., Graduate Student, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, GERMANY. Lab Head: Dr. Alexander Borst * Mallory Shields, BS, Graduate Student, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Lab Head: Dr. Noreen Reist * Josh Titlow, MS, Graduate Student, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Lab Head: Dr. Robin Cooper Lu Yang, BSc., Graduate Student, University of Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM. Lab Head: Dr. Davis 11 Students, (5 Male, 6 Female, 1 URM) * NSF Scholarship Support SEMINARS: Adrian Rothenfluh, UTSW, Dallas, TX "Studying behavior in Drosophila" Alex Keene, University of Reno, NV "Circadian rhythms/sleep" Benjamin White, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD "Circuit mapping complex behaviors" Chi-Hon Lee, NIH/NICHD, Bethesda, MD "Visual system development" Edward Kravitz, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA "Agression" Edwin Levitan, University of Pittsburgh, PA "Imaging dense core vesicles and neurosecretion" Glenn Turner, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY "Studying neural activity in the CNS" Gregory MacLeod, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX "Ca++ and pHlourin imaging" Josh Dubnau, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY "Learning & memory" Julie Simpson, HHMI/Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA "Genetic tools for mapping circuits underlying behavior" Claire McKellar, HHMI/Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA "Genetic tools for mapping circuits underlying behavior" "Genetic tools for mapping circuits underlying behavior" Julie Simpson, HHMI/Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA "Genetic tools for mapping circuits underlying behavior" Karla Kaun, HHMI/ Janelia Farm Research Campus,, Ashburn, VA "Flies and ethanol" Kate O’Connor-Giles, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI "Synaptogenesis" Maarten Zwart, University of Cambridge "CNS physiology" Melissa Rolls, Penn State, University Park, PA "Neuronal polarity" Michael Nitabach, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT "Genetically encoded voltage indicators" Motojiro Yoshihara, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA "Drosophila feeding circuit" Nicholas Strausfeld, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ "Comparative neuroanatomy" Richard Daniels, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI "NMJ physiology" Stefan Pulver, Janelia Farms, Ashburn VA "CNS physiology"
