Research in my group addresses systemic and cellular consequences of changes in intracellular calcium levels in animals. We are specifcally interested in the second messenger Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) and its receptor – the InsP3 receptor. This protein exists on the membranes of intracellular calcium stores and performs the dual function of a receptor for InsP3 and a channel for calcium release. We address InsP3 receptor function in the model organism Drosophila using genetic, molecular, cellular, electrophysiological and behavioral methods.

Links to new stories about our recent work:

No food, yet larvae reach within and develop 

This Is the Brain’s Backup Plan to Stay Online Even When Starved of Nutrients

A brain circuit to push past nutritional stress

NCBS team uncovers how the brain postpones hunger

How is it that one continues to function despite hunger pangs?

Guarding the gatekeepers

Scientists show the way to treat diseases related to calcium

Calcium’s the key

Not just bones, brain too needs calcium.

click on the image for movie

 Calcium responses in dissociated neurons obtained from brains of Drosophila larvae.