Cellular & Molecular

BBI investigators examine the fundamentals of brain structure and function, focusing on gene expression, signaling pathways and the molecular composition of synapses and circuits. Meet our researchers in this area and discover some of the BBI's exciting seed projects that employ cellular and molecular analysis below.

BBI Investigators: Cellular & Molecular

Capillary electrophoresis, part of the process of separating out a cell's proteins, being performed at the Nemes lab

Select BBI Seed Grants – Cellular & Molecular Analysis

Molecular connectomics of activity-dependent circadian circuit development

Colenso M. Speer, Najib M. El-Sayed, Peter Nemes

This project deploys a combination of advanced transcriptomic, proteomic, and high-resolution imaging methodologies to investigate circuit plasticity across multiple biological scales, from RNA and proteins to neurons and whole circuits.

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Unraveling the neurogenetic architecture of human preference in mosquitoes

Megan Fritz, Carlos Machado, Quentin Gaudry

Using an RNA sequencing approach, this project identifies multiple differentially expressed genes involved in chemosensation and visual perception between two distinct biological forms of Culex pipiens mosquitoes.

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Role of epigenetic mechanisms in striatum in neuronal encoding of decision-making during incubation of methamphetamine craving

Anna Li, Matt Roesch

This project examines whether overexpression of a specific enzyme (HDAC5) impacts reward-guided decision-making and associated neural correlates in post-withdrawal methamphetamine seeking.

Identifying candidate genes associated with sensorineural hearing loss in a novel vertebrate model

Robert Dooling, Karen Carleton, Farrah Madison

This project investigates the molecular mechanisms of high-frequency hearing loss in the canary to assess whether this phenotypic trait may have been the result of artificial selection (breeding for song quality or plumage).

Engineering Behavior to Have Transgenerational Consequences

Quentin Gaudry, Antony Jose

This project proposes to engineer a synthetic behavior to understand plausible solutions to the age-old "nature v. nuture" conundrum and develop a paradigm for rigorous experimental analysis—namely, to create the organismal regulatory circuits such that the adaptation to an odor is lost for many generations in the roundworm.