Ribeiro Lab | Behaviour and Metabolism

Carlos was elected as an EMBO member · A new paper on how internal states modulate sensorimotor processing to shape food choice is out in Nature · Join us for the ... CarloswaselectedasanEMBOmemberAnewpaperonhowinternalstatesmodulatesensorimotorprocessingtoshapefoodchoiceisoutinNatureJoinusforthe"Brain-BodyInteractions"onlineseminarseriesJoinusforthe"FutureofForaging"onlineseminarseriesZita&CarlosreceivedaGCRLEPilotAwardThefoodweeataffectsallaspectsofourlives,includingaging,abilitytoreproduce,lifespan,mentalstateandmood.Forbetterorworse,wearewhatweeat.Yet,howthebraincontrolsfoodchoiceisstillamystery.Whataretheneuralprocessesthatdriveustochooseapretzeloveranapple,orasteakovericecream?Totapintothisproblemresearchershavetotackledifficultquestionssuchas“howdoesthebrainknowwhichnutrientsthebodyneeds?”and“howisthisinformationtranslatedintodecisions?”WeaddressthesequestionsusingthefruitflyDrosophilamelanogaster,oneofthemostpowerfulandversatilegeneticanimalmodelscurrentlyavailable.Theflyallowsustocombineawidearrayoftoolsandapproaches,whichinclude,geneticcircuitmanipulations,activityimaging,automated,quantitativemethodsforstudyingbehaviour,microbiomemanipulations,andtissuespecificlargescaleRNAiscreens.Teammembersusethiswidearrayofapproaches sinceitenablesustoimplementanintegrativeneuroscienceapproach,necessarytosolvethiswhole-organismproblemReadmoreaboutourresearchHEREMainInterestsTheneuralmechanismsofnutritionHowanimalsmakedecisionsWhydoanimalssometimesdoonethingandsometimesomethingelse?MethodsGeneticcircuitmanipulations(yesweALSOdoOptogenetics),Nutritionalmanipulations,RNAi,CRISPR(whodoesn’tdothisnowadays?),Molecularandbiochemicalmethods,Volumetricactivityimaging,MicrobialmanipulationsofthehostandbehaviourAnimalModelDrosophilamelanogasteraka“Ifyoucancomeupwiththeexperimentyoucanalsodoit”aka“youdon’thavetoaskthePIifthelabcanaffordthecomplexgeneticexperiment”Wanttojoinourlab?CHECKFOROPPORTUNITIESAffiliationChampalimaudFoundationBehaviorandMetabolismLabChampalimaudResearchChampalimaudCentrefortheUnknownAvenidaBrasília,1400-038Lisbon,PortugalT(+351)210480200carlos.ribeiro(at)research.fchampalimaud.orgFollowFollowFUNDING