Maria Paz Fernandez

Membership Application - International Society of Neuroethology

Also encourage all your fellow neurethologists to become a member of the International Society of #Neuroethology 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬🧑‍🔬
You can find more information about ISN and the benefits of being a member here: ↘️ members.neuroethology.org/member-appli... ↙️

🧵Good news out of #NIH today.
(1) NIH is extending #ESI and #K99/R00 eligibility to accommodate researchers whose eligibility would have ended during the previous shutdown. Take a look at NOT-OD-26-020. If your ESI status would have ended in 2025, you get an automatic extension through 2026/03/31.

This is a logo for Animal Behavior, Indiana University.

What: The 2026 Indiana University Animal Behavior Conference
When: March 27-28
Where: Monroe Convention Center, Bloomington, IN
Conference registration is open. Abstract deadline is Feb. 13. Attendance only deadline is March 9, 2026.
Learn more: go.iu.edu/8sMB

Several fly larvae are crawling on an agar surface.

The 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 😉

Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.

Can't wait to serve again as co-director of the CSHL Drosophila Neurobiology course this year! 🧪🪰👀
Application Deadline: March 27
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
@cshlnews.bsky.social
@cshlcourses.bsky.social

Happy New Year!

Hiking at Griffy Lake

Merry Christmas! 🎄

NSF BIO Virtual Office Hour: Updates from the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences Please join the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences for a virtual office hour on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

#NSF BIO is hosting a Virtual Office Hour December 18 at 1:00 Eastern Time

www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-b...

The Larry Sandler Award recognizes excellent recent graduates who have completed a PhD in Drosophila research. The awardee will receive a fantastic opportunity to present the Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture at the 67th Annual Drosophila Research Conference in Chicago, IL! The deadline to nominate is December 15, 2025. Nominate Here Eligibility Any student completing a PhD in an area of Drosophila research between July 2024 and December 2025 is eligible. Students may be nominated by their thesis advisor, department chair, or supervisory committee member. Nominations Nominations may be submitted by the student’s thesis advisor, department chair, or supervisory committee member, and should include the following: Nominee's CV Nominee's thesis abstract of 1–2 pages A nomination letter directly answering the following questions: What are the main discoveries in the nominee's thesis? What are the intellectual and experimental contributions of the nominee to the project? How does the thesis work advance what was previously known in the field and to previous work from your lab?

Drosophila colleagues--Please submit nominations for the Larry Sandler Award. which recognizes excellent recent graduates who have completed a PhD in Drosophila research. Details are below and at this link:
genetics-gsa.org/drosophila-2...

Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.

meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...

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: https://alleninstitute.org/events/educator-coding-workshop-2026/

#iTeachBio #EduSky

Incorporating open connectomics data into teaching neuroscience Learn to analyze open neuroscience data and introduce dry lab modules into your existing classes at the Incorporating Open Connectomics data into...

I will be co-teaching a summer course at Allen Institute on connectomics education please apply. Travel support, new connectomics data sets and learning directly from the scientists who built these datasets. Details here: alleninstitute.org/events/incor...

Daily ultrastructural remodeling of clock neurons A cluster of Drosophila clock neurons remodel their axonal arbors daily. Using volumetric electron microscopy at different times of day, Ispizua, Rodriguez-Caron, and colleagues reveal ultrastructural...

SO HAPPY to share our new paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social! Using volumetric EM, we found daily shifts in synapses, vesicles, and mitochondria that accompany neuronal remodeling, linking structural plasticity to changes in how s-LNv neurons influence their targets
www.cell.com/current-biol...

If you're at #SfN25 come check out this poster session on neurobiology in changing ecosystems

#KavliNeuro

Splicing of a core clock gene regulates seasonal adaptations by a winter gating mechanism Seasons bring changes to the environment. Many organisms adjust their physiology and behavior in response to seasonal changes in order to survive. Although the molecular mechanisms mediating the integ...

Thrilled to share our new work! In this study, we have expanded on the role of the circadian clock in integrating seasonal environmental cues through splicing.
Thanks to @joanna-chiu.bsky.social for the continuous mentorship and to all co-authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Do 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...

On my last day at @flyneuro.bsky.social I am happy to share my latest paper about the DN1a clock neurons and their central role within the clock network. :)

I am grateful for the nice time I had here in Würzburg and looking forward to new adventures in Okayama and Münster in the next years!

Applications are due Dec 1st.
biology.indiana.edu/graduate/gen...

🔬✨Join us Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Science Fest 2025.

Explore hands-on, interactive activities that spark curiosity and inspire learners of all ages. You might even spot Hoosier the Bison in his new lab coat! 🦬 🥼

🎉 Open to the public, free admission.

🔗sciencefest.indiana.edu/index.html

Visceral signaling of post-ingestive malaise directs memory updating in Drosophila Consolidation is a time when labile memories transition to a stable form. Malaise learning in Drosophila reveals consolidation to also permit memory updating. Flies taught to associate one of two odor...

@senapati.bsky.social latest and greatest! Charly Treiber on board too. Over and out.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Excited to announce our new pre-print (www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...)!

This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/

Congratulations, Jens!

Excited 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

Pumped to share our work on bird behavior and the 2024 Eclipse, in today's @science.org. 100k bird vocalizations + 10k continent-wide observations from the public = really fun collab led by Liz Aguilar, with @juncowren.bsky.social @mathcancer.bsky.social @imillercrews.bsky.social #NSF

Congratulations!

Male CNS Connectome A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system —a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the ...

Exciting 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....

Male CNS Connectome A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system —a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the ...

We're very proud to be releasing the complete male fly CNS connectome!

It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.

More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...

Model organism databases face budget cuts and closures Beyond the crucial data they contain, these digital archives have provided an important space for academic communities to exchange ideas and resources.

Nature has published an article on the crisis facing MODs
Model organism databases face budget cuts and closures www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@zfinmod.bsky.social @xenbase.bsky.social @yeastgenome.bsky.social @mousegenome.bsky.social @ratgenome.bsky.social @geneontology.bsky.social @nature.com

FlyBase Update – October 2025 The termination of the NIH/NHGRI FlyBase grant has placed the long-term sustainability of FlyBase at risk. However, thanks to the generous support of several key individuals and institutions, we are pleased to announce that FlyBase will remain operational through the coming year. We extend our deepest gratitude to Yukiko Yamashita, Cassandra Extavour, Hugo Bellen, Thom Kaufman, the Genetics Society of America / Drosophila Board, the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center, an anonymous donor and the Wellcome Trust. We are especially thankful for a generous gift from Seemay Chou, Jed McCaleb, and The Navigation Fund. We also greatly appreciate the continued support from the broader Drosophila community – your donations and service fees have been vital in helping us stay afloat. Special thanks also go to Jessica Manning for her tireless administrative work at Harvard, to Ruth Lehmann, Hugo Bellen, and Paul Sternberg for advice and efforts, and to the Board of the European Drosophila Society for all their efforts. Sadly, we must also share that several long-standing FlyBase team members have recently moved on. We are immensely grateful to Susan Russo-Gelbart, Lynn Crosby, Gil dos Santos, Kris Broll, Victoria Jenkins, and TyAnna Lovato for their many years of dedicated service and contributions to FlyBase. Looking ahead, ensuring FlyBase’s sustainability beyond the next year – and successfully integrating with the Alliance – will require new funding sources. We kindly ask for your continued support: • European labs: Please consider contributing to the Cambridge, U.K. FlyBase group • U.S. and other non-European labs: Please consider contributing to the U.S. FlyBase groups • Both U.K. and U.S. FlyBase are working diligently to establish an invoicing system. We appreciate your continued patience. For more information on how to support us, please visit: Contribute to FlyBase wiki page https://wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase:Contribute_to_FlyBase

There's an update on the state of FlyBase on the FlyBase.org front page. You can contribute to FlyBase at this link wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
We express enormous gratitude to the people, labs, groups, and foundations who have already helped us.
#FlyBase #Drosophila

Try explaining to them that your first name has four words.