Beautiful synaptic circuit dissection👏 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

An octopamine-glutamate cotransmitting neuron gates aggressive escalation through layered inhibition in Drosophila

Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved behavior essential for survival and reproduction, yet escalation to high-intensity forms entails substantial metabolic costs and injury risks, necessitating p...

science.org

We are pleased to announce a major donation to support the work of the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center. Lawerence Washington, husband of former BDSC director Kathy Matthews, has established an endowment in her honor. bdsc.indiana.edu/news-events/...

It's difficult to know how motivated a fly is, and how motivated behaviors change with experience. To do this, we've been developing new ways to measure operant learning in flies, as described in our new Open-LA paper below.

Dr. John Hernandez@cranialnurv.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Ever wonder how individuals decide what to eat & what to avoid? We used our novel #OperantLearningAssay (Open-LA) to let #Drosophila control their sensory world and study their motivated choices over time. Read my full work with @karlakaun.bsky.social & co-authors at doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

Ever wonder how individuals decide what to eat & what to avoid? We used our novel #OperantLearningAssay (Open-LA) to let #Drosophila control their sensory world and study their motivated choices over time. Read my full work with @karlakaun.bsky.social & co-authors at doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

Shaping of olfactory responses by taste in a new assay for operant learning in Drosophila melanogaster

Summary: A new assay that characterizes subtle behaviors and assesses operant learning in freely behaving Drosophila reveals that olfaction more strongly influences stimulus-seeking behavior than tast...

doi.org

Friday was one of my favorite lab meetings of the year: the lab cookie swap. This year we had guest cookie appearances by @drosophilosophy.bsky.social and Thum lab PhD student Nadine Nowag. It was just too good not to share. www.kaunlab.com/post/2025-co...

The lab is hiring Research Assistants to look at how changes in gene regulation impact motivation for addictive stimulants. www.kaunlab.com/post/researc...

Research Assistant opening

The Kaun Lab is hiring new full-time Research Assistants!The position is ideal for someone interested in investigating how changes in gene regulation impact individual variation in addictive substance...

kaunlab.com

Are flies a good model to discover and investigate mechanisms of treatments for alcohol use disorder? We validated known treatments and suggest a potential new treatment: gamma secretase inhibitors.

Rebecca Oramas, PhD@rebeccaoramas.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Ever wonder how fruit flies can be used to help uncover novel therapies for #AlcoholUseDisorder? My new paper with @karlakaun.bsky.social describes a behavioral assay pipeline using #Drosophila that can be used to screen new treatments and to investigate the mechanism of currently available drugs.

Boom, congratulations Joel

Professor Joel Levine Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

The University of Toronto’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is proud to announce that Professor Joel Levine has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), the highest h...

eeb.utoronto.ca

presented my first data blitz on our MDMA-assisted therapy work at the first new england addiction neuroscience (NEAN) research conference, hosted at brown. thanks to the organizers for the opportunity! @karlakaun.bsky.social

So grateful to have been a part of organizing the first New England Addiction Neuroscience Research Conference alongside @karlakaun.bsky.social, @dgordonwinder.bsky.social , @mariedoyle.bsky.social, & John Hernandez. I learned so much from the wonderful talks and the discussions they sparked!

And that's a wrap! I had a ton of fun at the inaugural New England Addiction Neuroscience Research Conference Friday and am looking forward to seeing everyone next year, if not sooner! newenglandaddictionconsortium.wordpress.com/annual-confe...

Coming up in just a few weeks! @karlakaun.bsky.social and colleagues have great things in store. Prizes available for trainee presentations. Spots are still available, so please consider attending! Looking forward to chatting about growing and connecting addiction neuroscience in the area.

@dgordonwinder.bsky.social · last yr.

Calling local addiction neuroscientists! I'm excited to be involved in @karlakaun.bsky.social's great brain child, this year's New England Addiction Neuroscience Conference, to be held on the Brown campus August 15th. Hope to see you there! See attached flyer for details and registration.

Please join us!

@dgordonwinder.bsky.social · last yr.

Coming up in just a few weeks! @karlakaun.bsky.social and colleagues have great things in store. Prizes available for trainee presentations. Spots are still available, so please consider attending! Looking forward to chatting about growing and connecting addiction neuroscience in the area.

If you are a mentor for Native students, please keep in mind that some students are staying connected with their ways of life. Not all, bc forced assimilation has led to some Natives being removed from land and family, so not every Native needs time like this.

I spent most of 30 years in the Lower '48 earning my degrees and getting training. During grad school I only had the funding and time to return every 3 years, on average. I've only been home in the winter once in the last 20 years, when my aunt died. Subsistence living is year round. I missed a lot.

My university has announced a special international graduate fellowship for PhD students whose acceptance at a US university has been rescinded. Check it out: grad.uwo.ca/finances/wes...

US-CAN Doctoral Excellence Award

Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

grad.uwo.ca

Calling local addiction neuroscientists! I'm excited to be involved in @karlakaun.bsky.social's great brain child, this year's New England Addiction Neuroscience Conference, to be held on the Brown campus August 15th. Hope to see you there! See attached flyer for details and registration.

URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯 Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below. This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.

Marc Dionne@marcsdionne.bsky.social · last yr.

My lab studies bacterial infections. We spend a lot of time looking at (or for) species-specific genetic and genomic databases for hosts and microbes. FlyBase is the best of all—there is literally no comparison. Its existence is under threat. Please donate. www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Great visit yesterday from @karlakaun.bsky.social to the University of Iowa to give a seminar in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics' Current Topics in Genetics Seminar Series.

With support for mental health research under threat, clear communication is key to securing public understanding and support. Thanks @ericjnestler.bsky.social, @karlakaun.bsky.social & Omar Abubaker for this insightful piece in @thetransmitter.bsky.social

The Friedman Brain Institute@sinaibrain.bsky.social · 2y ago

Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic #MentalHealthResearch. Opening lines of communication will help us understand people’s needs & identify barriers @ericjnestler.bsky.social @karlakaun.bsky.social Omar Abubaker via @thetransmitter.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/addiction/ne...

Scientists turned out to Stand Up For Science at the State House in Providence. There’s power in numbers 💪.

To all parents of school age kids: University labs train nearly all people going into science in the US, which is about 25% of the US workforce. These budget cuts to the NIH and NSF means your kids won’t be able to get trained to be scientists. This crisis is putting your kids’ future in peril.

Dear All, I believe that this thread will become one of my most important contributions to the fly field (I hope I will make other contributions)! Here, I introduce the Soy Milk Machine Fly Food Method, a.k.a., DeepCook!#Drosophila#NewPI

Federal restrictions & funding freezes threaten vital research and halts scientific progress that benefits all Americans. Join fellow #NeuroAdvocates in urging Congress to protect congressionally approved funding & ensure uninterrupted support for the scientific workforce. 👇 #NeuroSky

Us scientists can advocate for how science brings hope in so many ways. I'm in awe of the advocacy work my colleagues at the Brown Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies do! carney.brown.edu/news/2025-01...

A Case for Addiction Science Advocacy

Karla Kaun argues that addiction researchers should talk about their work in their everyday lives. Those conversations can shape how drug, tobacco and alcohol use is studied in labs, taught in schools...

carney.brown.edu

Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic #MentalHealthResearch. Opening lines of communication will help us understand people’s needs & identify barriers @ericjnestler.bsky.social @karlakaun.bsky.social Omar Abubaker via @thetransmitter.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/addiction/ne...

Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic mental health research

The knowledge gap between scientists, health-care professionals, policymakers and people with mental health conditions is growing, slowing the translation of basic science to new treatments.

thetransmitter.org

Omar Abubaker, Eric Nestler and I spoke about how science brings hope for those suffering from alcohol and substance use disorders at an Advocacy forum @sfn.org #SfN24. Our message is that as scientists we need to be better at communicating this. @ericjnestler.bsky.social

The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 2y ago

A challenge for basic scientists is to guarantee that the future generation of health-care professionals and policymakers understands the importance of addiction and mental health research. By Omar Abubaker, @karlakaun.bsky.social, @ericjnestler.bsky.social bit.ly/42oULRu #neuroskyence

FlyBoard elections are open through Feb. 16, 2025. Please look for Genetics Society of America email: Select future FlyBoard leadership! Here is a link to access the candidate statements and ballot: genetics-gsa.org/2025-fly-boa... Please repost. #Dros25 @GeneticsGSA

Human embryo editing against disease is unsafe and unproven — despite rosy predictions rdcu.be/d5Cqr- critical commentary by @shaicarmi.bsky.social, @hankgreely.bsky.social and myself

Apply to "Drosophila genetics and genomics": experienced experts will teach you hands-on in classical strategies and cutting-edge experimental techniques to enhance your use of this powerful model organism for research, whilst connecting to scientists in your field. www.embl.org/about/info/c...

Drosophila genetics and genomics

embl.org