Meetings & Courses Program

Crossroads of Biology

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Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior
June 26 - July 17, 2025

Key Dates
Application Deadline: March 15th, 2025
Arrival: June 26th by 6pm EST
Departure: July 17th around 12pm EST

CSHL Courses are intensive, running all day and often including evenings and weekends; students are expected to attend all sessions and reside on campus for the duration of the course.

Instructors
Robert Carrillo, University of Chicago
Tania Reis, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
Jens Rister, University of Massachusetts Boston

See the roll of honor - who's taken the course in the past 

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Follow us on Twitter @cshlflycourse

Social Media Coordinator: Tyler Sizemore, University of West Virginia

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. This three-week course is designed to introduce students to a wide variety of topics and techniques, including the latest approaches for studying nervous system development, activity and connectivity, as well as complex behaviors and disease models.

Daily research seminars present comprehensive overviews of specific subfields of nervous system development or function or focus on state-of-the-art techniques and approaches in Drosophila neuroscience. Expert guest lecturers discuss their findings and approaches, and bring along their own assays and techniques for students to learn in the laboratory part of the course.

The hands-on portion of the course is centered on inquiry-based projects, utilizing the different morphological and physiological measurements and behavioral paradigms learned at the course. This includes molecular-genetic analyses, immunocytochemistry, recording of activity using electrophysiology and genetically encoded calcium indicators, optogenetic and thermogenetic control of neural activity, as well as numerous quantitative behavioral measures.

Collectively, the course will provide a comprehensive and practical introduction to modern experimental methods for studying the neural basis of behavior in Drosophila.

2024 Speakers Include
Vanessa Auld, Univeristy of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 
Christa Baker, NC Statue University, Raleigh, NC 
Diana Bautista, Berkeley University, Berkeley, CA 
Andy Bellemer, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 
Martha Bhattacharya, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 
Arnaldo Carreira Rosario, Duke University, Durham, - 
Anita Devineni, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 
Maria de la Paz Fernandez, Barnard College, Nyc, NY 
C. Andrew Frank, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 
Ellie Heckscher, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 
Sung Soo Kim, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 
Wei-Chung Lee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 
Matthieu Louis, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 
Nara Muraro, Biomedicine Research Institute of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina 
Caroline Palavicino-Maggio, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 
Beverly Piggott, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 
Chris Potter, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 
Jens Rister, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 
Subhabrata Sanyal, Calico Life Sciences LLC, South San Francisco, CA 
Kausik Si, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 
Marie Suver, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 
John Tuthill, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 
Cale Whitworth, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 

The course is supported by funds provided by: National Science Foundation and Howard Hughes Medical Institute

We would like to acknowledge the following companies that provided invaluable support:
Microscopes: Nikon Instrument, Inc, Scientifica, Sensapex
Equipment: AD Instruments, A-M Systems Inc, Andor Technology, Molecular Devices, Narishige International USA, Photmetrics, Sutter Instrument Company
Donations: Aves, Vector Laboratories

Funding is available for domestic and international students accepted to this course.

Stipends are available to offset tuition costs as follows-

Scientists from developing countries accepted into this course may be eligible for scholarships provided by the International Brain Research Organization.

       

Cost (including board and lodging): $6,070 USD

No fees are due until you have completed the full application process and are accepted into the course.

Before applying, ensure you have:
  1. Personal statement/essay;
  2. Letter(s) of recommendation;
  3. Curriculum vitae/resume (optional);
  4. Financial aid request (optional).
    More details.

If you are not ready to fully apply but wish to express interest in applying, receive a reminder two weeks prior to the deadline, and tell us about your financial aid requirements, click below: