Advanced Research Program

Advanced Research Program:

After summer camp, Neurons Can Fly provides a continuing in-person and/or remote research opportunity for those qualified, motivated, and committed to participating in Cai lab’s ongoing research projects and making exciting discoveries. Limited opportunities will be provided to a select group of students to work in the Cai lab for the rest of the summer.   Remote research opportunities are provided throughout the year and each participating student  in the continuing research project will receive one-to-one mentorship. 

Project #1: Neural Reconstruction and Neuroinformatics:

Students will perform remote neuron reconstructions and data mining utilizing Flywire and FlyLight resources to form anatomy-based hypotheses  identifying transgenic fly lines that will label specific neuronal subsets. 


Flywire data set (top image) 

Flylight data set (bottom image) 

Project #2: Fly line Generation & Circuit Validation:

After receiving hypothesized fly lines from project 1, students will crossbreed and generate novel fly lines to explore resulting behavioral and physiological functions.  The focus will center on locomotion behaviors such as courtship and aggression, using optogenetics and thermogenetics to validate the circuit mechanisms of specific neuronal subsets. 

Fly behavior test (top image) 

AI analysis (bottom image)