NEUROBIOLOGY OF DROSOPHILA
June 27 - July 17, 2008
Application Deadline: March 15, 2008

Instructors:
Ravi Allada, Northwestern University
Marc Freeman, University of Massachussetts Medical School
Bing Zhang, University of Oklahoma

This laboratory/lecture course is intended for researchers at all levels from beginning graduate students through established primary investigators who want to use Drosophila as an experimental system for nervous system investigation. The three-week course is divided into the study of development, physiology/function and behavior. Daily seminars introduce students to a variety of research topics and develop those topics by including recent experimental contributions and outstanding questions in the field. Guest lecturers bring original preparations for viewing and discussion and direct laboratory exercises and experiments in their area of interest. The course provides students with hands-on experience using a variety of experimental preparations that are used in the investigation of current neurobiological questions. The lectures and laboratories will focus on both the development of the nervous system and its role in controlling larval and adult behaviors. In addition to an exposure to the molecular genetic approaches available in Drosophila, students will learn a variety of techniques including: embryo in situ hybridization, labeling of identified neurons, electrophysiology (intracellular recording and patch clamping), optical imaging of neuronal activity, and the analysis of larval and adult behavior. Collectively, the course will provide a comprehensive and practical introduction to modern experimental methods for studying the Drosophila nervous system.

Last year's lecturers also included:
Greg Bashaw, University of Pennsylvania
Heather Broihier, Case Western Reserve University
Vivian Budnik, University of Massachusetts
Sarah Certel, Harvard Medical School
Josh Dubnau, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Aki Ejima, Brandeis University
David Featherstone, University of Illinois at Chicago
Fen-Biao Gao, The Gladstone Institutes at UCSF
Leslie Griffith, Brandeis University
Gregory Jefferis, University of Cambridge
Maurice Kernan, SUNY at Stony Brook
Haig Keshishian, Yale University
Edward Kravitz, Harvard Medical School
Adelaine Leung, MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Mala Murthy, Caltech
Amita Sehgal, HHMI/University of Pennsylvania
Ping Shen, University of Georgia
Stephan Sigrist, University of Würzburg
Bryan Stewart, University of Toronto
Susan Tsunoda, Boston University
Glenn Turner, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Bruno van Swinderen, Neurosciences Institute
Scott Waddell, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Jie Xu, The University of Georgia

This course is supported with funds provided by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Scientists from developing countries accepted into this course may be eligible for scholarships provided by the International Brain Research Organization (Click here for details)

Cost (including board and lodging): $3,850
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