Excited to share the first preprint from the Ferreira lab, led by PhD students Mirjam Heinemans and Rui Goncalves! 🪰🧠 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We knew fruit flies freeze when threatened alone and that they freeze less in a group. Surprisingly, we found this social buffering differs by sex!

We're hiring! Join us as a postdoc to study how the brain is optimised for sensory coding and memory Please spread the word! Apply at jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Research... Deadline: 5 October 2026 Learn more at: www.aclinlab.org

Thrilled to be co-organising the EMBO Workshop Comparative (neuro)science in insects, 13–16 April 2027, Engelberg 🇨🇭 with @megyounger.bsky.social, @nkonst4.bsky.social, and Yun Ding@UPENN Abstracts due 11 Dec 2026 🔗 meetings.embo.org/event/27-ins... Register and join us! #EMBOneuroInsects

We also have a Senior Research Assistant position associated with this award! We're looking for someone interested in joining us at @northumbriauni.bsky.social to support and lead research on the 'safety in numbers' effect in flies. Apply by 15th September: work4.northumbria.ac.uk#en/sites/CX_...

Clara Howcroft Ferreira@clarahowcroft.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Research Fellow position associated with our 5-year BBSRC New Investigator Award is now open for applications! We're looking for someone to join us at @northumbriauni.bsky.social to research the 'safety in numbers' effect in flies. Apply by 15th September: work4.northumbria.ac.uk#en/sites/CX_...

The Research Fellow position associated with our 5-year BBSRC New Investigator Award is now open for applications! We're looking for someone to join us at @northumbriauni.bsky.social to research the 'safety in numbers' effect in flies. Apply by 15th September: work4.northumbria.ac.uk#en/sites/CX_...

Clara Howcroft Ferreira@clarahowcroft.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Really happy to share exciting news for the lab: @ukri.org has awarded us a ~£1M BBSRC New Investigator award over 5 years to investigate the neurobiological basis of 'safety in numbers'. 🧵 1/3

Very proud of the special issue of Animal Behaviour I worked on with @wascherclaudia.bsky.social and @nicolakoyama.bsky.social on addressing biases in animal behaviour. Thanks to all authors- plenty of cool papers to read. Here's our editorial: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @asab.org

The #DrosTuga2026 website is now live! Join us in Leiria on 26–27 November 2026 for the Portuguese #Drosophila meeting. Save the date as registration opens in late August! Please share this post. We warmly welcome the #FlyResearch community from around the world! drostuga2026.mystrikingly.com

Drostuga2026 on Strikingly

DrosTuga 2026 is the annual meeting of the Portuguese Drosophila research community, bringing together researchers from Portugal and abroad. Here you can discover the dates, speakers, programme, venu...

drostuga2026.mystrikingly.com

Really happy to share exciting news for the lab: @ukri.org has awarded us a ~£1M BBSRC New Investigator award over 5 years to investigate the neurobiological basis of 'safety in numbers'. 🧵 1/3

MY SITE

MY SITE

ferreira-lab.weebly.com

Lovely tribute to the wonderful human and researcher Ed Kravitz by Alo Basu and @mariadelapax.bsky.social starting the day at #ICN2026. His legacy continues in good hands!

The amazing JEDI crowd 2026! Hurray for an inspiring #Drosophila meeting at a gorgeous location. Thank you to everyone who attended!

@dahaniel.muench.bio one of the co-organisers of the @fly-jedi.bsky.social 2026 meeting using a gorgeous and scrumptious-looking picnic scene to explain his lab's research question.

The first few talks of this year's conference have been amazing! Here is a picture of @katrin-domsch.bsky.social rocking the stage talking about #Drosophila muscle development!

Today our keynote speaker Eugenia Chiappe from @champalimaudf.bsky.social gave an inspiring talk. The JEDI's enjoyed interacting with a first generation JEDI, who attended these #Drosophila meetings when she first started her lab. Thank you, Eugenia!

Know an amazing person in neuroethology who champions inclusivity and is a great mentor? Nominate them for this prize and let them know their efforts are important!

International Society for Neuroethology@neuroethology.org · 5mo ago

🚨 Nominate a neuroethologist for the Mosaic Prize by May 31! The ISN Mosaic Prize seeks to identify and acknowledge individuals in the neuroethology community for their contribution and commitment to making the research environment more inclusive. For more info: www.neuroethology.org/mosaic-prize/

🎉 Exciting news for our lab: we will have open positions soon #PostdoctoralResearcher #ResearchTechnician! If you are interested in #SocialBehaviour, #FearResponses, and #DrosophilaMelanogaster, get in touch with a short CV and a statement of research interests.

Want to do a #Postdoc with us? Together with @clarahowcroft.bsky.social I'm sure we can find a project for you: #Drosophila #Insect #affectiveState #Play #Social #Fear #Neuropeptide #DecisionMaking #Intentionality #Sentience Hit us with your ideas and get in touch! bsky.app/profile/ec.e...

European Commission@ec.europa.eu · 6mo ago

Big opportunities for researchers 🌍 We are investing nearly €400 million to help researchers share their work and collaborate with the best scientific teams across the EU. The 2026 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships are now open. More: link.europa.eu/PNxpxw

‼️ GENTLE REMINDER ‼️
Only 1 week left to register! Don’t miss this opportunity to come together and discuss the hottest topics in Drosophila research! Join us in Pamela to enjoy great science, sun, and of course… pastéis de nata! We can’t wait to see you there!

Very proud supervisor moment: the industrious Rui Gonçalves, a fantastic PhD student in the lab, presenting at the Scotish fly meeting 2026!

Wonderful work by the great Zita Carvalho-Santos and her fantastic lab!

Zita Carvalho-Santos Lab@zsantoslab.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🚨🚨 New preprint 🚨🚨 We found that the ovary directly controls protein appetite in Drosophila. Yes — the ovary doesn’t just make eggs… it tells the fly what to eat! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... If you want all the details, click above ☝️ If you just want the fun, GIF-guided overview, keep reading 👇

Calling all #Drosophila #NewPI #researchers! A few spots remain for the upcoming JEDI Conference - and you won’t want to miss this! Every attendee gives a talk, making the exchange dynamic, personal, and highly interactive - all at a stunning venue that inspires collaboration and creativity.

The registration is open! Junior #Drosophila PIs, join us for inspiring scientific discussion, contribute a talk and listen to our keynote speaker, Eugenia Chiappe. We meet in Palmela, Portugal from June 1st to 3rd. Register soon as spots are limited! congressos.mundiconvenius.pt/geral/inseri...

Join us for a cool project looking at the neural basis of how social isolation affects female aggression!

Eleanor Bath@eleanorbath.bsky.social · 9mo ago

We're advertising a PhD project on how social isolation influences aggression in flies. Based at Durham, co-supervised by @clarahowcroft.bsky.social . Despite what the ad says, this is also open to international applicants! Any questions, shoot me a msg! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

We're advertising a PhD project on how social isolation influences aggression in flies. Based at Durham, co-supervised by @clarahowcroft.bsky.social . Despite what the ad says, this is also open to international applicants! Any questions, shoot me a msg! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Angry and Alone: How Social Experience Shapes Female Aggression in Flies at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Angry and Alone: How Social Experience Shapes Female Aggression in Flies at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

Get ready to join us in Portugal this year, 1-3 June, in panoramic Palmela, just south of Lisbon! We have planned 3 days of science discussions and activities aimed at fostering our network of JEDIs in a supportive, fun, and sunny setting.

Junior European Drosophila Investigators@fly-jedi.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Registration will open soon for the next JEDI meeting: June 1st - 3rd in Palmela, Portugal! Join us and our keynote speaker Eugenia Chiappe. Her #neuroscience lab studies how #Drosophila estimates its own movement and integrates sensory inputs to control locomotion. chiappelab.org

📣First preprint of the lab📣 Did that really happen?😅 Enteric neurons, aka somatic postmitotic cells, must hold on to their sex identity tight, to deliver a tuned response to signals from the ovary that instruct the animal to engage sex-matched behavioural programmes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Genetic sex of enteric neurons enables ovarian relaxin to gate maternal gut plasticity

Animals must align intestinal plasticity and feeding with reproductive state, yet the checkpoint that gates these adaptations is unknown. Here we show that an ovary-to-enteric-neuron axis gates the on...

biorxiv.org

I am very happy (and a bit scared) to present to you what we have been working on over the last 4 years. This manuscript is exactly what I dreamt of when I started the lab and I could not be happier and prouder of the outcome!

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Evolutionary dynamics of temporal transcription factor series in the insect optic lobe https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.08.698497v1

Happy New Year from seasonally beautiful Newcastle-upon-Tyne! Get in touch if you are interested in our #PhDstudentship to research the neurobiological basis of social behaviour and its dysfunction in Drosophila melanogaster. Deadline for applications: 23rd January.

Clara Howcroft Ferreira@clarahowcroft.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Interested in the neurobiological basis of social behaviour and its dysfunction? Join the Ferreira and @wolfhuette.bsky.social groups at Northumbria University for a fully funded PhD opportunity studying group behaviour in flies. Further details are available here: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Thank you @deepanshund.bsky.social for the invitation and hosting me. I really enjoyed coming over to the #ManchesterFlyClub, meeting and discussing with your diverse and interesting community! Looking foward to seeing you all again soon at one of our northern Drosophila gatherings.

Deepanshu Singh@deepanshund.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Thank you @clarahowcroft.bsky.social (@northumbriauni.bsky.social) for an engaging talk on mechanism underlying group behaviour. It was a pleasure to host you at the #ManchesterFlyClub (@mcf-uom.bsky.social)🧬🪰

Very sad news. Witnessing and benefiting from Adam's passion and generosity as a student was truly inspirational, and his work continues to be the backbone of the research we do. Thank you.

Rui Costa@ruimcosta.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Last night Adam Kampff, the glue, the light, the catalyst, the builder, the smile, left us. He and his work transformed the lives of many labs, scientists, students. He inspired and was generous to his last transformation, working tirelessly to set up a foundation to continue the work.Thank you!

🧠 Applications for the International Neuroscience Doctoral Programme (INDP) @champalimaudf.bsky.social open until 31 January 2026. ☀️ Join our vibrant and international research community in sunny Lisbon! 🔗 fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...