Julius Adler

I am doing research on sensory reception and decision making in Drosophila fruit flies. 1) The fiies are presented with attractant, then after that with replellent, and in this way mutants are found which are not attracted or repelled by anything, though they are still motile. Such mutants are defective in a final step of sensory reception needed for telling the legs and wings what to do. 2) The flies are presented with an attractant and at the same time with repellent; now the flies need to decide what to do. Mutants that can not make this decision and are still motile are being isolated. The defects in these two kinds of mutants will be discovered. This will reveal the mechanisms involved. In larger perspective, this provides an entree into the study of the fly’s brain. Similar work will also be attempted in mice.

Curriculum Vitae