Philipp Brand
@pbrand.bsky.social
PI of Evolutionary Neuroscience and Behavior Group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.
Evolution of behavior, neural circuits, chemical senses, and speciation.
he/him
https://brain.mpg.de/brand
Evolution of behavior, neural circuits, chemical senses, and speciation.
he/him
https://brain.mpg.de/brand
Pinned
Philipp Brand
@pbrand.bsky.social
· Oct 16
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Davis Summer Population Genomics Program
Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...
docs.google.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Postdoc position in systems neuroscience!
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
February 1, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Postdoc position in systems neuroscience!
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
Excited to recruit a postdoc for my lab at the University of Bonn.
🔬 In vivo physiology (Neuropixels, 2P/miniscope)
🐭 Head-fixed & freely moving behaviour
💡 Optogenetics/chemogenetics
⏳ Start: ASAP | Application deadline: 28.02.2026
More info below ⬇️
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Why do some worms graze on bacteria while others hunt and kill?
Our study, published today in Nature, reveals how predatory aggression evolved in nematodes.
Led by @gunizgozeeren.bsky.social and @leoboeger.bsky.social across the @jameslightfoot.bsky.social and @monikakscholz.bsky.social labs.
Our study, published today in Nature, reveals how predatory aggression evolved in nematodes.
Led by @gunizgozeeren.bsky.social and @leoboeger.bsky.social across the @jameslightfoot.bsky.social and @monikakscholz.bsky.social labs.
Predatory aggression evolved through adaptations to noradrenergic circuits - Nature
Noradrenergic circuits support and balance aggressive behavioural states in predatory nematodes, distinguish predatory from non-predatory nematode species and are associated with the evolution of comp...
www.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Why do some worms graze on bacteria while others hunt and kill?
Our study, published today in Nature, reveals how predatory aggression evolved in nematodes.
Led by @gunizgozeeren.bsky.social and @leoboeger.bsky.social across the @jameslightfoot.bsky.social and @monikakscholz.bsky.social labs.
Our study, published today in Nature, reveals how predatory aggression evolved in nematodes.
Led by @gunizgozeeren.bsky.social and @leoboeger.bsky.social across the @jameslightfoot.bsky.social and @monikakscholz.bsky.social labs.
Reposted by Philipp Brand
A study in @science.org from Paul Cohen's lab, led by @maschakoenen.bsky.social, demonstrates how beige fat directly influences blood pressure. The findings offer a new target for treating vascular disease and could lead to more precise therapies for hypertension: https://bit.ly/4pK0hGh
January 15, 2026 at 8:07 PM
A study in @science.org from Paul Cohen's lab, led by @maschakoenen.bsky.social, demonstrates how beige fat directly influences blood pressure. The findings offer a new target for treating vascular disease and could lead to more precise therapies for hypertension: https://bit.ly/4pK0hGh
Reposted by Philipp Brand
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
Neuronal calcium spikes enable vector inversion in the Drosophila brain
In the fly central complex, PFNa neurons switch from firing classical sodium spikes
when depolarized to firing non-canonical T-type calcium spikes when hyperpolarized.
This bidirectional spiking allow...
www.cell.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:35 PM
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
Reposted by Philipp Brand
📢 Join us, the Haberkern lab, @uni-wuerzburg.de for a postdoc studying neural circuit mechanisms of navigation. You’ll spearheading neurophysiology experiments on our brand new 2P!
⏳ Apply by 28th February 2026
Details: www.haberkernlab.de/docs/ENPostd...
#neuroscience #academicjobs #postdoc
⏳ Apply by 28th February 2026
Details: www.haberkernlab.de/docs/ENPostd...
#neuroscience #academicjobs #postdoc
December 23, 2025 at 11:27 AM
📢 Join us, the Haberkern lab, @uni-wuerzburg.de for a postdoc studying neural circuit mechanisms of navigation. You’ll spearheading neurophysiology experiments on our brand new 2P!
⏳ Apply by 28th February 2026
Details: www.haberkernlab.de/docs/ENPostd...
#neuroscience #academicjobs #postdoc
⏳ Apply by 28th February 2026
Details: www.haberkernlab.de/docs/ENPostd...
#neuroscience #academicjobs #postdoc
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Finally got the job ad—looking for 2 PhD students to start spring next year:
www.gao-unit.com/join-us/
If comp neuro, ML, and AI4Neuro is your thing, or you just nerd out over brain recordings, apply!
I'm at neurips. DM me here / on the conference app or email if you want to meet 🏖️🌮
www.gao-unit.com/join-us/
If comp neuro, ML, and AI4Neuro is your thing, or you just nerd out over brain recordings, apply!
I'm at neurips. DM me here / on the conference app or email if you want to meet 🏖️🌮
December 3, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Finally got the job ad—looking for 2 PhD students to start spring next year:
www.gao-unit.com/join-us/
If comp neuro, ML, and AI4Neuro is your thing, or you just nerd out over brain recordings, apply!
I'm at neurips. DM me here / on the conference app or email if you want to meet 🏖️🌮
www.gao-unit.com/join-us/
If comp neuro, ML, and AI4Neuro is your thing, or you just nerd out over brain recordings, apply!
I'm at neurips. DM me here / on the conference app or email if you want to meet 🏖️🌮
Reposted by Philipp Brand
My main postdoc work is now out :) In the group of @tomtom-auer.bsky.social with Justine Pascual, @bruzz-1.bsky.social , Noemi Sgammeglia , with crucial collaboration with @dahaniel.muench.bio and @ribeirocarlitos.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 27, 2025 at 9:49 AM
My main postdoc work is now out :) In the group of @tomtom-auer.bsky.social with Justine Pascual, @bruzz-1.bsky.social , Noemi Sgammeglia , with crucial collaboration with @dahaniel.muench.bio and @ribeirocarlitos.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Our preprint is out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
FERAL: A Video-Understanding System for Direct Video-to-Behavior Mapping
Animal behavior unfolds continuously in time, yet quantitative analyses often require segmenting it into discrete, interpretable states. Although manual annotation can achieve this, it remains slow, s...
www.biorxiv.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Our preprint is out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
@rorycoleman.bsky.social and I wrote an opinion piece called
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution
The vast diversity of animal behaviors has long inspired ethologists and neuroscientists, but circuit mechanisms driving this variation remain elusive…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:57 AM
@rorycoleman.bsky.social and I wrote an opinion piece called
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Apply now to become a speaker at our Institute! We invite excellent postdocs in neuroscience, ecology and other fields related to our research to apply for our Emerging Scientist Talk Series. Apply by October 24: www.bi.mpg.de/ess
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
September 19, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Apply now to become a speaker at our Institute! We invite excellent postdocs in neuroscience, ecology and other fields related to our research to apply for our Emerging Scientist Talk Series. Apply by October 24: www.bi.mpg.de/ess
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
October 24, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
Reposted by Philipp Brand
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Reposted by Philipp Brand
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
Reposted by Philipp Brand
People thought I was bonkers studying courtship and mating in Drosophila erecta nearly 50 years ago. Sometimes you just have to wait.
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 12:41 PM
People thought I was bonkers studying courtship and mating in Drosophila erecta nearly 50 years ago. Sometimes you just have to wait.
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
October 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
Reposted by Philipp Brand
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT📣: I haven’t been this excited to be part of something new in 15 years… Thrilled to reveal the passion project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half!🙀🥳 (thread 👇)
October 15, 2025 at 12:22 PM
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT📣: I haven’t been this excited to be part of something new in 15 years… Thrilled to reveal the passion project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half!🙀🥳 (thread 👇)
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
October 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
Reposted by Philipp Brand
We're very proud to be releasing the complete male fly CNS connectome!
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
Male CNS Connectome
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 ...
www.janelia.org
October 5, 2025 at 6:02 PM
We're very proud to be releasing the complete male fly CNS connectome!
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:
September 6, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:
Reposted by Philipp Brand
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 Philipp Brand
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
Exciting new Ruta lab preprint by @annaryba.bsky.social et al. on the neural underpinnings of intraspecific behavioral variation: Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution in Drosophila
Sexual selection acts on heritable differences within species, driving the parallel diversification of signal production in one sex and behavioral responses in the other. This coevolution implies that...
www.biorxiv.org
August 21, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Exciting new Ruta lab preprint by @annaryba.bsky.social et al. on the neural underpinnings of intraspecific behavioral variation: Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
New preprint!
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Computational Urban Ecology of New York City Rats
Urban rats are highly adaptable, thriving in the dynamic and often inhospitable conditions of modern cities. Despite substantial mitigation efforts, they remain an enduring presence in urban environme...
www.biorxiv.org
July 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
New preprint!
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...