Andrew Dacks
@adacks.bsky.social
Case Western Reserve University, Insect-o-phile, sensory coding, neuromodulation. www.dacksneuroscience.com.
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...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
You just finished your PhD and you are looking for a postdoc to study stress-dependent modulation of learning. We are using the powerful fly model to understand the underlying circuits and mechanisms. You can apply here:
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
Portail Emploi CNRS - Offre d'emploi - Postdoc position (M/F) in Neuroscience, stress modulation of learning (H/F)
emploi.cnrs.fr
September 15, 2025 at 10:25 AM
You just finished your PhD and you are looking for a postdoc to study stress-dependent modulation of learning. We are using the powerful fly model to understand the underlying circuits and mechanisms. You can apply here:
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
I am thrilled to announce that I just opened my lab at New York University in @nyucns.bsky.social and Biology! Our work will explore the richness of animal behavior, dissecting the genetic and circuit mechanisms that shape its evolution.
September 4, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I am thrilled to announce that I just opened my lab at New York University in @nyucns.bsky.social and Biology! Our work will explore the richness of animal behavior, dissecting the genetic and circuit mechanisms that shape its evolution.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Neuronal diversity is written in transcriptional codes 🧬. But what is the logic of these codes that define cell types and wiring patterns?
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
August 21, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Neuronal diversity is written in transcriptional codes 🧬. But what is the logic of these codes that define cell types and wiring patterns?
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Happy to announce that @ajblake05.bsky.social’s JEB paper was selected as this month’s Editors Choice article. This article discovered that mosquito color/wavelength preferences shift depending on the odor they experience.
September 2, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Happy to announce that @ajblake05.bsky.social’s JEB paper was selected as this month’s Editors Choice article. This article discovered that mosquito color/wavelength preferences shift depending on the odor they experience.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Thrilled to share this work, long time in the making! Carried through creatively by @siddjakes.bsky.social after initial design & piloting by @trackingskills.bsky.social, with help from @trackingactions.bsky.social. Modeling in collaboration with Massimo Vergassola & Nicola Rigolli.
Mice navigate scent trails using predictive policies
Animals actively sense their environment to extract features of interest to guide behaviors. For mammals, odors are prominent environmental features which are sampled by active modulation of sniffing ...
www.biorxiv.org
September 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Thrilled to share this work, long time in the making! Carried through creatively by @siddjakes.bsky.social after initial design & piloting by @trackingskills.bsky.social, with help from @trackingactions.bsky.social. Modeling in collaboration with Massimo Vergassola & Nicola Rigolli.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Excited to share our latest work - expressing the bacterial sodium channel in fly Kenyon cells surprisingly *decreases* their excitability, thanks partly to decreased endogenous sodium channels. This prevents learning and decreases odor-evoked calcium influx doi.org/10.1113/JP28...
Ectopic sodium channel expression decreases excitability of Drosophila Kenyon cells
Abstract figure legend: We tested the effects of expressing the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel NaChBac in the Kenyon cells of the Drosophila memory centre, the mushroom body. NaChBac expressi...
doi.org
September 1, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Excited to share our latest work - expressing the bacterial sodium channel in fly Kenyon cells surprisingly *decreases* their excitability, thanks partly to decreased endogenous sodium channels. This prevents learning and decreases odor-evoked calcium influx doi.org/10.1113/JP28...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
If you are a researcher whose lab uses FlyBase, consider a tax-deductible personal contribution. A lot of $100 contributions would help bridge the gap until we can set up a user fee system, and even $10 donations send the folks there the message we're behind them. Please share
August 27, 2025 at 12:27 AM
If you are a researcher whose lab uses FlyBase, consider a tax-deductible personal contribution. A lot of $100 contributions would help bridge the gap until we can set up a user fee system, and even $10 donations send the folks there the message we're behind them. Please share
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
If you’re interested in ants, olfaction, gene regulation, or all of the above, here’s a new preprint from the lab for you. It describes an unorthodox mechanism of transcriptional interference by which ant olfactory sensory neurons produce a single functional receptor.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Transcriptional Interference Gates Monogenic Odorant Receptor Expression in Ants
Communication is crucial to social life, and in ants, it is mediated primarily through olfaction. Ants have more odorant receptor (OR) genes than any other group of insects, generated through tandem d...
www.biorxiv.org
August 21, 2025 at 9:31 PM
If you’re interested in ants, olfaction, gene regulation, or all of the above, here’s a new preprint from the lab for you. It describes an unorthodox mechanism of transcriptional interference by which ant olfactory sensory neurons produce a single functional receptor.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Can't wait to read this preprint from Misha Ahrens and team. Calcium imaging in larval zebrafish, in every cell in the body! Amazing.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
August 22, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Can't wait to read this preprint from Misha Ahrens and team. Calcium imaging in larval zebrafish, in every cell in the body! Amazing.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
I watched the video and donated - it was super easy! Please donate if you’re able, and help spread the word so that we can keep this essential resource going.
FlyBase needs your help! We ask that European labs continue to contribute to Cambridge, UK FlyBase, whereas US and other non-European labs can contribute to US FlyBase. For more information and how to donate: wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
FlyBase:Contribute to FlyBase - FlyBase Wiki
wiki.flybase.org
August 22, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I watched the video and donated - it was super easy! Please donate if you’re able, and help spread the word so that we can keep this essential resource going.
Reposted by Andrew Dacks
Fly folk:
The Amazing and essential @flybase.bsky.social is in existential need due to Trump termination of the grant that supports this vital resource.
Please donate to help keep Flybase alive. I just did. Info here on how to make a tax deductible donation:
wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
The Amazing and essential @flybase.bsky.social is in existential need due to Trump termination of the grant that supports this vital resource.
Please donate to help keep Flybase alive. I just did. Info here on how to make a tax deductible donation:
wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
FlyBase:Contribute to FlyBase - FlyBase Wiki
wiki.flybase.org
August 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Fly folk:
The Amazing and essential @flybase.bsky.social is in existential need due to Trump termination of the grant that supports this vital resource.
Please donate to help keep Flybase alive. I just did. Info here on how to make a tax deductible donation:
wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
The Amazing and essential @flybase.bsky.social is in existential need due to Trump termination of the grant that supports this vital resource.
Please donate to help keep Flybase alive. I just did. Info here on how to make a tax deductible donation:
wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...