[bioundgrd] Fwd: All Expense Paid Internship in Barcelona Center for Genomic Regulation : Neural mechanisms controlling foraging behavior in the Drosophila larva

[Janice Chang]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Alicia Goldstein Raun <aliciag at mit.edu<mailto:aliciag at mit.edu>>
Subject: All Expense Paid Internship in Barcelona Center for Genomic Regulation : Neural mechanisms controlling foraging behavior in the Drosophila larva
Date: March 16, 2015 at 12:09:50 PM EDT
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MIT-Spain Internship Opportunity in Barcelona, Spain

[cid:C23BDAED-CA97-467A-80A1-77325898C54F at mit.edu]

Title: Neural mechanisms controlling foraging behavior in the Drosophila larva
No technical prerequisite, except a minimal background in biology, bioengineering, physics and/or computer science.
MIT-Spain requires knowledge of Spanish (Spanish IV or equivalent)
Barcelona, Spain
8-10 weeks
http://www.crg.eu/
flight, stipend, health insurance covered

Over the past decade, the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) larva has become a powerful model system to study the neural basis of sensory perception and behavior. Past studies have shown that larvae demonstrate robust navigational behaviors to odor (chemotaxis), light (phototaxis) and temperature (thermotaxis). Most of this work has been carried out in plane two-dimensional surfaces of agarose. This type of environment is very different from the natural habitats of larvae, which typically consist of ripe or rotting fruits (hydrogels). In these tridimensional media, larvae are capable of locating sites containing food upon detection of signals from multiple sensory modalities (taste, small, gravity, etc). Foraging behavior in hydrogels medium offers an opportunity to study how the nervous system organizes orientation responses based on the integration of multisensory information and internal states.

To study the behavioral and neural principles directing foraging behavior in the Drosophila larva, we have devised a new assay based on microfluidics. In a controlled diving chamber made of agarose, we use machine-vision techniques to monitor the behavior of larvae exhibiting digging at the surface and diving into the medium. During this dig-and-dive behavior, larvae are stimulated by olfactory (odor) and gustatory (sugar) cues. We found that larvae showed striking differences in the control of foraging responses when simulated by odors alone compared to a combination of odors and sugar. In this internship, you will contribute to the analysis of the neural processes underlying the control of innate foraging behavior by the integration of olfactory and gustatory cues. Using the power of fly molecular genetics and optogenetics, you will participate in the identification and functional characterization of the neural circuits involved in this process.

Objectives of the internship:
1. Behavioral testing of larvae upon loss-of-function/gain-of-function manipulations;
2. Computational quantification of behavioral responses and comparisons across genotypes;
3. Development of a model of the control of innate foragi

Please send resume and letter of interest to aliciag at mit.edu<mailto:aliciag at mit.edu>

Alicia Goldstein Raun
Managing Director; Spain and Portugal Programs
MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1 Amherst Street, E40-407
Cambridge, MA  02139
Phone 617-324-5494  Fax 617-258-7432
http://misti.mit.edu/

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