Kristin Scott
University of California, Berkeley
Taste Processing in Drosophila
12:00 pm, Monday 07 September 2015
Location: Large Lecture Theatre, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Sherrington Building
Abstract: The ability to identify nutrient-rich food and avoid toxic substances is essential for an animal’s survival. Although olfaction and vision contribute to food detection, the gustatory system acts as a final checkpoint for food acceptance or rejection. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster tastes many of the same stimuli as mammals and provides an excellent model system for comparative studies of taste detection. We have utilized a combination of molecular, behavioral, and calcium imaging studies to determine the taste ligands of different gustatory neurons and understand how taste information is processed in the higher brain. More recently, we have begun to examine how hunger, satiety and learning influence activity in taste circuits and regulate feeding decisions. These studies provide insight into how taste compounds are detected and processed by the brain.
Biography: Kristin Scott completed her PhD in Biology at the University of California in San Diego and went on to become a postdoctoral fellow in Richard Axel’s group at Columbia University. She started her group in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department at the University of California at Berkeley in 2003 and in 2009 became a HHMI Early Career Scientist before becoming a full Professor in 2012.
For further information please contact Fiona Woods at fiona.woods@cncb.ox.ac.uk