Andrew Dacks
@adacks.bsky.social
Case Western Reserve University, Insect-o-phile, sensory coding, neuromodulation. www.dacksneuroscience.com.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
The first paper from the lab is now out in Science Advances: Multimodal social context modulates larval behavior in Drosophila
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We find that fly larvae keep their distance to conspecifics in the absence of food, enjoy reading! @cbehav.bsky.social @uni-konstanz.de
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We find that fly larvae keep their distance to conspecifics in the absence of food, enjoy reading! @cbehav.bsky.social @uni-konstanz.de
February 2, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The first paper from the lab is now out in Science Advances: Multimodal social context modulates larval behavior in Drosophila
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We find that fly larvae keep their distance to conspecifics in the absence of food, enjoy reading! @cbehav.bsky.social @uni-konstanz.de
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We find that fly larvae keep their distance to conspecifics in the absence of food, enjoy reading! @cbehav.bsky.social @uni-konstanz.de
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Thank you to everyone who made this work possible: @karlakaun.bsky.social @rebeccaoramas.bsky.social @adacks.bsky.social
Check out my Early Career Research Spotlight Interview with the Journal of Experimental Biology at journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Check out my Early Career Research Spotlight Interview with the Journal of Experimental Biology at journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
ECR Spotlight – John Hernandez
ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career res...
journals.biologists.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Thank you to everyone who made this work possible: @karlakaun.bsky.social @rebeccaoramas.bsky.social @adacks.bsky.social
Check out my Early Career Research Spotlight Interview with the Journal of Experimental Biology at journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Check out my Early Career Research Spotlight Interview with the Journal of Experimental Biology at journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
How does the brain control locomotion? In our new preprint, we uncover a brain circuit in Drosophila that controls forward walking independently of turning. This dedicated locomotor circuit enables flexible motor control and might reflect a shared principle across species. doi.org/10.64898/202...
January 5, 2026 at 4:25 PM
How does the brain control locomotion? In our new preprint, we uncover a brain circuit in Drosophila that controls forward walking independently of turning. This dedicated locomotor circuit enables flexible motor control and might reflect a shared principle across species. doi.org/10.64898/202...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Thrilled to start 2026 with our latest preprint, in which we dive into a dedicated forward-walking circuit in the fly brain: doi.org/10.64898/202.... This effort was spearheaded by the fantastic @chrisjdallmann.bsky.social with help from a bunch of talented people in the lab.
How does the brain control locomotion? In our new preprint, we uncover a brain circuit in Drosophila that controls forward walking independently of turning. This dedicated locomotor circuit enables flexible motor control and might reflect a shared principle across species. doi.org/10.64898/202...
January 5, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Thrilled to start 2026 with our latest preprint, in which we dive into a dedicated forward-walking circuit in the fly brain: doi.org/10.64898/202.... This effort was spearheaded by the fantastic @chrisjdallmann.bsky.social with help from a bunch of talented people in the lab.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
How do animals channel sensory information into motor pathways to generate flexible behavioral output? Excited to share a new preprint addressing this question by leveraging the new #maleCNS connectome, behavioral experiments, and in-vivo recordings: doi.org/10.64898/202.... A long🧵...
December 19, 2025 at 7:02 AM
How do animals channel sensory information into motor pathways to generate flexible behavioral output? Excited to share a new preprint addressing this question by leveraging the new #maleCNS connectome, behavioral experiments, and in-vivo recordings: doi.org/10.64898/202.... A long🧵...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!!
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
December 15, 2025 at 6:26 PM
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!!
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Drosophila colleagues--Please submit nominations for the Larry Sandler Award. which recognizes excellent recent graduates who have completed a PhD in Drosophila research. Details are below and at this link:
genetics-gsa.org/drosophila-2...
genetics-gsa.org/drosophila-2...
December 4, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Drosophila colleagues--Please submit nominations for the Larry Sandler Award. which recognizes excellent recent graduates who have completed a PhD in Drosophila research. Details are below and at this link:
genetics-gsa.org/drosophila-2...
genetics-gsa.org/drosophila-2...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Happy to share our current opinion on the insulin and octopamine systems and their role in shaping neuronal circuits, energy homeostasis, and behavior in #Drosophila, other insects, and 🧑🦱.
Just out: Our review on how insulin and octopamine tune locomotion and feeding in insects. We cover conserved mechanisms and present new insights showing how emerging datasets connect circuit dynamics across timescales.
It was a fun process and I learnt a ton!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
It was a fun process and I learnt a ton!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The role of insulin and octopamine in regulating energy homeostasis and locomotion in insects
Maintaining energy homeostasis is a fundamental requirement for survival. At the core, animals must balance periods of food-searching and feeding with…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Happy to share our current opinion on the insulin and octopamine systems and their role in shaping neuronal circuits, energy homeostasis, and behavior in #Drosophila, other insects, and 🧑🦱.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Calling thesis advisors, department chairs, and supervisory committee members! 📣 Nominate an outstanding PhD/PhD candidate working with Drosophila for the Larry Sandler Award. They'll present at #Dros26. Learn more and submit a nomination: buff.ly/mtfDbBD
@peiferlabunc.bsky.social
@peiferlabunc.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Calling thesis advisors, department chairs, and supervisory committee members! 📣 Nominate an outstanding PhD/PhD candidate working with Drosophila for the Larry Sandler Award. They'll present at #Dros26. Learn more and submit a nomination: buff.ly/mtfDbBD
@peiferlabunc.bsky.social
@peiferlabunc.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
What an honor to be recognized as one of @thetransmitter.bsky.social Rising Stars of Neuroscience 2025!
Check out this year's award winners and their contributions to
neuroscience at www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...
Check out this year's award winners and their contributions to
neuroscience at www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...
November 15, 2025 at 3:31 PM
What an honor to be recognized as one of @thetransmitter.bsky.social Rising Stars of Neuroscience 2025!
Check out this year's award winners and their contributions to
neuroscience at www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...
Check out this year's award winners and their contributions to
neuroscience at www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
🚀 New paper alert!
Thrilled to share our latest study led by postdoc
@gera_jayati
published in eLife.
👉 doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Continue reading for a summary. 🧵
Thrilled to share our latest study led by postdoc
@gera_jayati
published in eLife.
👉 doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Continue reading for a summary. 🧵
Anti-diuretic hormone ITP signals via a guanylate cyclase receptor to modulate systemic homeostasis in Drosophila
A multi-pronged approach reveals that ion transport peptide neuropeptide acts through the guanylate cyclase receptor Gyc76C to coordinate osmotic and metabolic homeostasis across multiple tissues in D...
doi.org
November 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
🚀 New paper alert!
Thrilled to share our latest study led by postdoc
@gera_jayati
published in eLife.
👉 doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Continue reading for a summary. 🧵
Thrilled to share our latest study led by postdoc
@gera_jayati
published in eLife.
👉 doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Continue reading for a summary. 🧵
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Excited to share my most recent postdoctoral work in the Jeanne lab @yaleneuro.bsky.social !
“Sensory processing reformats odor coding around valence and dynamics”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We ask: how is a sensory code transformed across multiple stages of processing to inform behavior?
“Sensory processing reformats odor coding around valence and dynamics”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We ask: how is a sensory code transformed across multiple stages of processing to inform behavior?
Sensory processing reformats odor coding around valence and dynamics
Extracting relevant features of a complex sensory signal typically involves sequential processing through multiple brain regions. However, identifying the logic and mechanisms of these transformations...
www.biorxiv.org
November 9, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Excited to share my most recent postdoctoral work in the Jeanne lab @yaleneuro.bsky.social !
“Sensory processing reformats odor coding around valence and dynamics”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We ask: how is a sensory code transformed across multiple stages of processing to inform behavior?
“Sensory processing reformats odor coding around valence and dynamics”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We ask: how is a sensory code transformed across multiple stages of processing to inform behavior?
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
The Allen Institute is a premier scientific powerhouse that upholds values - open science, team science, and collaboration - that promote the progress of science rather than individual advancement. Past NGLs are leaders in their fields. To be a part of this group is a huge honor!
The Next Generation Leaders program at the Allen Institute recognizes and supports emerging and diverse early career researchers in bioscience. alleninstitute.org/news/allen-i...
Allen Institute announces 2025 Next Generation Leaders
Fostering collaboration and innovation from emerging leaders in bioscience
alleninstitute.org
November 4, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The Allen Institute is a premier scientific powerhouse that upholds values - open science, team science, and collaboration - that promote the progress of science rather than individual advancement. Past NGLs are leaders in their fields. To be a part of this group is a huge honor!
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Excited to announce the final version of the Mosquito Cell Atlas is out now in @cellpress.bsky.social!! 🦟🩸
There is SO much left to find & investigate in this dataset (& the rich biology of the Aedes aegypti mosquito)! We hope this helps scientists in many fields!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
There is SO much left to find & investigate in this dataset (& the rich biology of the Aedes aegypti mosquito)! We hope this helps scientists in many fields!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito
A comprehensive single-nucleus RNA-seq atlas of >367,000 nuclei from male and female
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reveals sexual dimorphism in sensory systems and brain cell
types and widespread co-expres...
www.cell.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Excited to announce the final version of the Mosquito Cell Atlas is out now in @cellpress.bsky.social!! 🦟🩸
There is SO much left to find & investigate in this dataset (& the rich biology of the Aedes aegypti mosquito)! We hope this helps scientists in many fields!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
There is SO much left to find & investigate in this dataset (& the rich biology of the Aedes aegypti mosquito)! We hope this helps scientists in many fields!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Are flies a good model to discover and investigate mechanisms of treatments for alcohol use disorder? We validated known treatments and suggest a potential new treatment: gamma secretase inhibitors.
Ever wonder how fruit flies can be used to help uncover novel therapies for #AlcoholUseDisorder? My new paper with @karlakaun.bsky.social describes a behavioral assay pipeline using #Drosophila that can be used to screen new treatments and to investigate the mechanism of currently available drugs.
Investigating pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder using Drosophila melanogaster
This study validates Drosophila melanogaster as a powerful model for alcohol use disorder (AUD) drug discovery. A pipeline to test drug effects on acute alcohol response, alcohol consumption, and mem...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Are flies a good model to discover and investigate mechanisms of treatments for alcohol use disorder? We validated known treatments and suggest a potential new treatment: gamma secretase inhibitors.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Ever wonder how fruit flies can be used to help uncover novel therapies for #AlcoholUseDisorder? My new paper with @karlakaun.bsky.social describes a behavioral assay pipeline using #Drosophila that can be used to screen new treatments and to investigate the mechanism of currently available drugs.
Investigating pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder using Drosophila melanogaster
This study validates Drosophila melanogaster as a powerful model for alcohol use disorder (AUD) drug discovery. A pipeline to test drug effects on acute alcohol response, alcohol consumption, and mem...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Ever wonder how fruit flies can be used to help uncover novel therapies for #AlcoholUseDisorder? My new paper with @karlakaun.bsky.social describes a behavioral assay pipeline using #Drosophila that can be used to screen new treatments and to investigate the mechanism of currently available drugs.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
We are recruiting PhD students! If you are interested in evolutionary neuroscience, consider applying: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Prieto Godino Lab | Cellular and molecular bases of neural circuit and behavioural evolution
www.crick.ac.uk
October 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
We are recruiting PhD students! If you are interested in evolutionary neuroscience, consider applying: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Neuroscience faculty job Alert! We are hiring at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine! Apply at apply.interfolio.com/171533. Please repost.
October 7, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Neuroscience faculty job Alert! We are hiring at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine! Apply at apply.interfolio.com/171533. Please repost.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
🪰 A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system—a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the millions of connections between them.
🔗 https://hhmi.news/4o3EJnk
🔗 https://hhmi.news/4o3EJnk
October 6, 2025 at 2:16 PM
🪰 A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system—a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the millions of connections between them.
🔗 https://hhmi.news/4o3EJnk
🔗 https://hhmi.news/4o3EJnk
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Despite These Times...my department is hiring! I really like my department, we have a good mix of disciplines and organisms and we're really low-drama. We also get pizza at faculty meeting. So if you're a computational and structural biologist, join us! 🧪 jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/260...
Assistant Professor - Tenure Track Faculty
The Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is inviting applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position. The position requires a doc...
jobs.rutgers.edu
October 1, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Despite These Times...my department is hiring! I really like my department, we have a good mix of disciplines and organisms and we're really low-drama. We also get pizza at faculty meeting. So if you're a computational and structural biologist, join us! 🧪 jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/260...
Come join the Neuroscience community as Case Western!
My department at Case Western Reserve is recruiting an Assistant / Associate Professor of Neurosciences - come be our colleague!
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
October 1, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Come join the Neuroscience community as Case Western!
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
A revised version of our preprint now includes results from D. biarmipes Or67a paralogs, data from a second D. suzukii Or67a4 mutant, and a model describing how Or67a paralogs are expressed in two distinct neuronal types in D. suzukii. Stay
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 30, 2025 at 7:47 AM
A revised version of our preprint now includes results from D. biarmipes Or67a paralogs, data from a second D. suzukii Or67a4 mutant, and a model describing how Or67a paralogs are expressed in two distinct neuronal types in D. suzukii. Stay
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Case Western Reserve Department of Biology is hiring! We're recruiting for a tenure-track position focusing on eukaryotic microbiology, especially microbial/environment interactions. Please share widely: apply.interfolio.com/174456
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Case Western Reserve Department of Biology is hiring! We're recruiting for a tenure-track position focusing on eukaryotic microbiology, especially microbial/environment interactions. Please share widely: apply.interfolio.com/174456
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
new pape from our lab, led by the indefatigable @chrisjdallmann.bsky.social. i am very proud of this one.
Now out in @nature.com: Our study discovering a neural circuit in Drosophila that predictively inhibits proprioceptor axons during voluntary leg movements, such as walking and grooming. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
September 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
new pape from our lab, led by the indefatigable @chrisjdallmann.bsky.social. i am very proud of this one.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Now out in @nature.com: Our study discovering a neural circuit in Drosophila that predictively inhibits proprioceptor axons during voluntary leg movements, such as walking and grooming. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
September 17, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Now out in @nature.com: Our study discovering a neural circuit in Drosophila that predictively inhibits proprioceptor axons during voluntary leg movements, such as walking and grooming. www.nature.com/articles/s41...