One of the most interesting questions in biology is how the genome encodes the complexity of the brain and nervous system. In order to understand the links that connect the genome to neural function, my lab focuses on naturally occurring differences between species. We use the insect visual system as a model, which provides access to diverse brains and nervous systems that have been shaped by a range of requirements, such as expanded color vision in butterflies or improved motion vision in house flies. This approach enables us to understand the rules that are used to build and modify a biological system that can receive input from the world, think, and respond.
Our lab is, at the core, a Drosophila lab, taking full advantage of our extensive knowledge of the fly visual system and the panoply of genetic and imaging tools available there, while focusing on uncovering specific genetic changes that make other species different. We work on butterflies, mosquitoes, and house flies, with each species exhibiting unique visual system characteristics.