Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program Round 12 - 2024
Project Investigators:
Bo Wang, Bioengineering
Xiaojing Gao, Chemical Engineering
Alice Ting, Genetics and Biology
Abstract:
Our interdisciplinary research team aims to develop a universal method to monitor neural activity in diverse animals in response to environmental stimuli, using specially designed RNA-editing based sensors that detect changes in calcium influx. Focusing on a marine flatworm, Macrostomum lignano, which inhabits ecological niches with drastic fluctuations in temperature, salinity, and food availability, we aim to elucidate the neural circuits through which animals adapt their behaviors to environmental changes. Drawing on expertise in organismal biology, quantitative biology, microscopy, synthetic biology, and protein engineering, we anticipate to develop a universally applicable set of neural activity sensors and expect to gain insights that could help us better predict effects of climate change on animal behaviors, particularly for species in ecological niches under severe environmental stress.
