Dr Gregory Jefferis

Interests

Our broad goal is to understand how smell turns into behaviour in the fruit fly brain. We use a combination of genetic labelling and manipulation, targeted in vivo whole cell patch clamp recording and high resolution neuroanatomy to study olfactory circuits. Key interests include understanding how third order olfactory neurons of the lateral horn integrate information from specific olfactory channels. This process of selective integration is the fundamental unit of perception and is likely to underlie innate behavioural responses to general odours and sex pheromones. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more about the group.

Confocal image of fruit fly brain with GFP labelled olfactory projection neurons. On the left a single neuron has been genetically labelled. On the right a clonally related group of 30 cells derived from a single neuroblast (neural stem cell).
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Research Focus

Equipment

Confocal microscopy

Electrophysiological recording techniques

Fluorescence microscopy

Genetic Labelling and Manipulation of Neurons

Image Registration (for 3D Brain Atlases)

Immunohistochemistry

Intracellular recording

Microscopy

Multiphoton imaging

Optogenetics

Single Cell Labelling (MARCM)

Whole cell patch clamp