Research

Behavioral Plasticity 

Our research aims to elucidate the mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity in zebrafish, with  particular focus on how environmental and social factors modulate individual and collective behaviors. We seek to understand how organism adjust their social interactions, shoaling dynamics, and decision-making processes in response to varying ecological contexts, such as predation risk, food availability, and group composition. By employing high-resolution tracking systems and advanced data analysis techniques, we will quantify changes in individual movement patterns, inter-individual distances, and group-level emergent properties across different environmental scenarios.

Synaptic plasticity: The mechanism of  learning and memory

We use paradigms to train larvae and adult to ignore repeated stimuli. This simple form of learning is known as habituation and offers a tractable paradigm to study the general phenomenon of learning and memory. Despite the apparent triviality of habituation (simply learning to ignore a given stimulus), how the brain actually accomplishes this selective filtration of specific stimuli is still largely unclear. Indeed, we have shown that habituation is a complex phenomenon that involves multiple independent plasticity events that each tune individual components of behaviour. We hope to gain insights into this process at the molecular, cellular and circuit levels.

Zebrafish models of Neurological Disorders

Zebrafish share numerous similarities with humans in terms of neuroanatomy and genetics, despite being a vertebrate. Therefore, high-throughput approaches to find novel therapeutics for neurogenerative diseases and the possibility of modeling human genetic disorders in zebrafish to study the basic biology of affected genetic/molecular pathways, as well as whether/how genes linked to these disorders in humans manifest in behavioral and cognitive function in larval and adult zebrafish, and what this might tell us about the etiology. 

Neurotoxicology and Neuropharmacology

We look at the long-term impacts of chemical exposure (PFOS, EDCs, etc.) on biological systems, including how it affects neurodevelopment. In order to understand how chemicals affect neurodevelopment, we use molecular approaches to screen for both acute and developmental neurotoxicity. Additionally, we investigate the effects of chemical-microbiome interactions on host health, with a focus on neurological diseases, neuroendocrine dysfunction, and the etiology of illness. Our neuropharmacology research focuses on the impact of psychoactive substances on brain and behavioral processes in order to clarify drug action, addiction, and possible targets for treatment.

Social behaviour in health and disease 

We are interested in the effects of social interaction on our brains. What makes some of us loners and others quite social? How may social connections help us feel better mentally? Additionally, we are interested in how environmental, pharmaceutical, and genetic factors impact sociality and contribute to the various diseases that are marked by a decrease in social behavior, such as bipolar disorders, autism, schizophrenia, and others.