Meet Zandawala
Assistant Professor (University of Nevada Reno)
Group leader (University of Würzburg)
Interested in neuromodulation of Drosophila physiology and behavior
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaEducators, the deadline to apply for our python workshop is approaching quickly! Apply by February 2 to join us in Seattle for this hands-on workshop. 💻 No prior coding experience needed. ✈️ Travel, meals, & stipend included. 🔗 alleninstitute.org/events/educator-cod…
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaThe second paper from the lab is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We discovered that cannibalistic behavior in fly larvae is social-context dependent. Larval groups avoid dead conspecifics; individuals show high attraction. They only do it when no one is watching 😉
- Reposted by Meet Zandawala📣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...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaI ignored the strip.clip argument in #ggplot2 for way too long 😲 Combined with a small negative margin tweak, you can place facet labels inside each panel. A tiny trick that makes small multiples feel so much cleaner. 🔵 no manual coordinates 🔵 inherits theme styling 🔵 scales nicely when resizing
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaHow do neural circuits generate the walking rhythm? Using connectome simulations, @sarahpugly.bsky.social found a minimal central pattern generator (CPG) that produces oscillations in leg motor neurons. Same circuit motif for each 🪰 leg. w @bingbrunton.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaNew work reveals Gyc76C as the receptor for the anti-diuretic hormone ITPa in flies, uncovering how it helps control hydration and metabolic balance. buff.ly/iTlvevz
- Highly recommend!
- Our python workshop is returning! Undergraduate educators, join us on July 27-30 for "Coding with Allen Institute Data." No prior coding experience needed. Travel, meals, & stipend included. Apply by Feb. 2 at: alleninstitute.org/events/educator-cod… #iTeachBio #EduSky
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaOur python workshop is returning! Undergraduate educators, join us on July 27-30 for "Coding with Allen Institute Data." No prior coding experience needed. Travel, meals, & stipend included. Apply by Feb. 2 at: alleninstitute.org/events/educator-cod… #iTeachBio #EduSky
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaHigh-resolution single-cell analyses reveal evolutionary constraints and evolvability of sexual circuits in Drosophila | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Reposted by Meet Zandawala🚨 Postdoc openings! We’re looking for postdocs excited about sleep, synapses & cellular neurophysiology (fly or mouse). Yes, we also have mouse projects! See details: www.flysleeplab.com/positions
- 🚀 New paper alert! Thrilled to share our latest study led by postdoc @gera_jayati published in eLife. 👉 doi.org/10.7554/eLif... Continue reading for a summary. 🧵
- Ion‐transport peptide amidated (ITPa) #neuropeptide is one of the few #Drosophila neuropeptides whose receptor was unknown till now. This anti-diuretic peptide was discovered back in 1992.
- In this tour-de-force, we use multiple approaches to tackle this. We show that the ITPa neuropeptide binds to a membrane guanylate cyclase receptor, Gyc76C, thereby regulating both osmotic and metabolic homeostasis.
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View full threadIf you’d like to dive in: 👉 Full text and supplemental data: elifesciences.org/articles/970... 👉 Peer reviews are open for transparency. Feel free to share & comment. Happy to discuss any aspect of the work.
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaPreparations for the next JEDI meeting are underway! The upcoming Junior European #Drosophila Investigator / #NewPI meeting is planned for Portugal in June. Final dates and additional details will be announced soon - stay tuned for updates!
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaExcited to return as co-director of the CSHL Drosophila 🪰Neurobiology course in 2026! Application Deadline: March 27 meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx... @cshlnews.bsky.social @cshlaboratory.bsky.social @cshlcourses.bsky.social #cshlflycourse #scicomm #drosophila 🪰🧪
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- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaDo flies feel pain? Spooky new preprint from our lab on the cells and circuits that mediate nociceptive behaviors in adult Drosophila, led by graduate student (and newly minted PhD!) @jonesjes.bsky.social. 🪰⚡👻🎃 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaA functional clock in only two dorsal clock neurons is sufficient to restore the basal circadian activity pattern of Drosophila melanogaster | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaWe are thrilled to announce the inaugural Metabolism in Development & Physiology virtual seminar, a new series connecting researchers across all stages & disciplines in metabolism! 🗓 13 Nov 2025, 16:00 CET 🎙 Alexander Aulehla (EMBL Heidelberg), & 🎙 Christopher Bell (Uni of Oxford) See you there!
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaExcited to share our new #biorxivpreprint: “Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaExciting news for #drosophila #connectomics and #neuroscience enthusiasts: the Drosophila male central nervous system connectome is now live for exploration. Find out more at the landing page hosted by our Janelia FlyEM collaborators www.janelia.org/project-team....
- Any fly neuroscience folks going to SfN this year?
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaNeuronal diversity is written in transcriptional codes 🧬. But what is the logic of these codes that define cell types and wiring patterns? To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠 #preprint thread ⬇️1/8
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaComparative transcriptomics of lateral hypothalamic cell types reveals conserved growth hormone-tachykinin dynamics in feeding biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaWith @megyounger.bsky.social's lab, et al., we present the first connectomics work in the disease-vector mosquito Aedes aegypti, revealing how its brain is wired to detect host cues. Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025... #Neuroscience #Connectomics #vEM #VectorBiology 🧪
- New preprint from @darbly.bsky.social @briandepasquale.bsky.social and my labs! If you love (or hate) mosquitoes, have a look: doi.org/10.1101/2025... We used TEM to describe the circuitry used for CO2 detection by mosquitoes. As usual with mosquitoes, nothing is as expected! 🌬️🦟
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaHow is the nervous system organized to coordinate behavior? To approach this massive question, a team led by @asbates.bsky.social, @jasper-tms.bsky.social, @mindyisminsu.bsky.social, & Helen Yang present the BANC: a Brain and Nerve Cord connectome. Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025... 🧪#Neuroskyence
- Public access to the first fly connectome that spans the whole CNS - BANC!: codex.flywire.ai?dataset=banc Different from prior connectomes - it is brain + cord (think spinal cord) We use it to ‘embody’ the system and find it resembles ‘subsumption architecture’ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaPublic access to the first fly connectome that spans the whole CNS - BANC!: codex.flywire.ai?dataset=banc Different from prior connectomes - it is brain + cord (think spinal cord) We use it to ‘embody’ the system and find it resembles ‘subsumption architecture’ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaHappy Friday! The female adult fly brain-and-nerve-cord (BANC) connectome is now LIVE! Explore the data here: codex.flywire.ai?dataset=banc Check out the preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Reposted by Meet Zandawala
I definitely never regretted the decision to leave New York for Stockholm and Karolinska - now you can join us: big call for assistant professors across medical disciplines coming up. news.ki.se/ki-to-recrui... - Reposted by Meet ZandawalaWe have open PhD positions in the lab to work in the Neuroscience of #Cephalopods #Cnidaria and #Drosophila- please RT www.sprecherlab.com
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaWe're hiring! Our lab is looking for a postdoc to investigate the #evodevo of #cephalopod brains. Did you recently graduate, and do you want to join our EU #WEAVE project with the Simakov and @simon-sprecher.bsky.social labs? Find the application form👇Thanks for RT 🐙🦑 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
- Reposted by Meet Zandawala#chronobiology #chronobiologie #CharlotteHelfrich-Förster #circadianclock #Drosophila #charlotteförster #Julius-Maximilians-Universität @uni-wuerzburg.de @biologie-uniwue.bsky.social
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaWe are very pleased to share that our paper on sexual dimorphism in circadian rhythms has been published in @plosbiology.org. This work was led by the very talented Aishwarya Iyer and includes contributions from three undergraduate co-authors. You can read the full study here:
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaI'm thrilled to see the latest work from the lab published today @currentbiology.bsky.social. This project was carried by PhD student Jinfang Li, who combined the Flywire connectome with functional experiments to examine the principles of taste circuits in the fly brain. (Image by Jacelyn Shu)
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaNew paper out in @elife.bsky.social! Antarctic krill use their clock to control daily rhythms of swimming activity across a wide range of photoperiods, which helps them adapt to their high-latitude habitat🌊🦐🕖☀️ Great collaboration between @uni-wuerzburg.de, @awi.de, @hifmb.de! doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaThis paper is the result of funding from the BBSRC that I received in 2022 for my independent research. Then, since 2023, I’ve led my own lab focused on receptor deorphanisation and evolution of the nervous system, If you're interested in large-scale GPCR testing or collaborations, get in touch!
- New insights into neurotransmitter evolution from a GPCR screen in Trichoplax, a neuron-less animal. with Yanez-Guerra et al. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202… Trichoplax has tryptamine, tyramine, and phenethylamine receptors […] [Original post on biologists.social]
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaPreprint alert!. In the most recent work of my laboratory, we demonstrate that placozoans are able to respond to monoamines, furthermore, we experimentally characterise the receptors responsible for these effects. #Science #Placozoans #Neurotransmitters #Monoamines www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Meet Zandawala🎈Our latest 🪅 We know that in addition to exteroceptive mechanisms, interoceptive chemosensation is also critical for regulating physiology/behavior. We find that an enteric neuron in worms senses ingested salts via a variant ionotropic receptor (IR like the fly IRs) to regulate salt stress. 1/n
- An enteric neuron-expressed variant ionotropic receptor detects ingested salts to regulate salt stress resistance biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaVery proud of this new preprint from our collaboration with the Schafer lab; study was led by the amazing Amy Courtney @amycourtneyyy.bsky.social
- Very excited and proud to finally share this story! 🐙 We discovered surprising roles for dopamine and acetylcholine in the Octopus visual system… doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaOur third paper on the neuronal control of insulin release in flies was published in @elife.bsky.social! This was a great team effort spearheaded by Tina Held, Rituja Bisen and our collaborator @zandawala.bsky.social. You can find the paper here: elifesciences.org/articles/99548. 1/3
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaExciting discovery by Svensson lab and collaborators @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social, computational discovery of 2500 new bioactive peptides, including 12-mer named BRP that reduces food intake leading to weight loss w/o nausea in mice! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaIt‘s finally official! I am thrilled to start at the Chair of Neurobiology and Genetics at the @uni-wuerzburg.de on April 1st! I am very grateful to all my mentors, group members, collaborators and friends without whom I could not have achieved this. Please come & visit beautiful Wuerzburg soon!
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaTogether with EMBO, we provide funding for workshops, practical and lecture courses in Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. 📆 The next application deadline is 1 March 2025. Apply here: bit.ly/41hbB47
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaMapping the effectiveness and risks of GLP-1 receptor agonists “Compared to usual care, GLP-1RA use was associated with a reduced risk of substance use and psychotic disorders, seizures, neurocognitive disorders (including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia” www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaFor #drosophila scientists, I've made a free #diagram resource of a variety of common physical markers, both coloured and lined. Hopefully going to make more, so feel free to share suggestions! Current collection: Bar, CyO, e, Hu, w, mini-w, Pin, v, wt, Sp, Ser, Sb, y. doi.org/10.6084/m9.f...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaTogether with other JEDIs @michaelrera.bsky.social @drosostalis.bsky.social @ksiudeja.bsky.social @felsenberg.bsky.social and Gerit Linneweber, we are trying to restart this awesome initiative that was unfortunately silenced during COVID. More information here: flies-jedi.github.io Please repost!
- Dear Droso peeps, we re-announce the upcoming JEDI meeting that will take place at Château du Feÿ from June 3rd to 5th in 2025. You'll find a prelim program flies-jedi.github.io/projects/202... We're hoping to gather about 45 of more or less young droso PI to reboot the community. -> Register Now!
- We are pleased to report publication of the Drosophila circadian clock connectome in @naturecomms.bsky.social. Check out the final version for additional analyses not present in the preprint. @unrcabnr.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- The connectome analyses were led by PhD student @nils-reinhard.bsky.social in Helfrich-Förster and @flyingclocks.bsky.social labs. Taishi Yoshii's lab at Okayama university mapped neuropeptides and their receptors in clock neurons. FlyWire community generated the dataset. Power of collaborations!
- "Guten Rutsch" or have a good slide into the new year. With the lab flooded, we can do this literally. Things can only get better from here!
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaNIGMS is hosting a virtual office hours for MIRA Early Stage Investigator Applications on Thursday December 12th, 1 -2 PM EST - MIRA apps due dates are - Feb 3rd & Oct3rd. loop.nigms.nih.gov/2024/12/virt...
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaWell this is some cool single molecule imaging www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Meet Zandawalardcu.be/d2vIj Synaptic connectome of the Drosophila circadian clock
- Reposted by Meet Zandawala
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaOur new preprint is out - please share! We asked: How can we make CRISPR knockouts in vivo more efficient? And set up an assay that enables detection of CRISPR cutting with 100s-1000s of sgRNAs over entire chromosome arms in living animals. Grab a ☕ and let’s dive in. 🧵🧪 1/n #CRISPR #geneediting
- Reposted by Meet Zandawala🤯 Just when you think #Drosophila neurogenetics has run out of ideas, along come Gilad Barnea's lab to show us they can not only visualise pre- and post-synaptic neurons but they can also label post-post-synaptic neurons! THREE orders! 😅 Congrats on a really amazing pre-print!
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaI'm thrilled to be hosting @zandawala.bsky.social for the Quantitative & Systems Biology Graduate Program seminar tomorrow. So much innovative science - I'm expecting the unexpected!
- Reposted by Meet ZandawalaOne of my sabbatical goals this year is to make this information accessible, so I’ll be posting one fly behavior tip a day this month (March is associated with brain awareness in RI) on my lab Fly Behavior Blog (and here). www.kaunlab.com/behavior-blog
- 🚨 New paper from the lab in collaboration with Jean-Paul Paluzzi lab. Postdoc Jayati Gera's first project from the lab on the discovery of the receptor for the #Drosophila anti-diuretic hormone, ITP. t.co/ZyfycK4du0
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