Current projects
Multiple cue integration in visual perception
To understand the three-dimensional structure of the world from the two-dimensional images projected onto our retinas, our brains rely on inference mechanisms. Due to the inherent noise in natural visual environments, a single visual cue often fails to provide enough information to make a reliable inference. In this case, our brains integrate evidence from multiple visual cues to make accurate inferences. This project seeks to investigate the neural processes underlying the integration of multiple visual cues related to a single visual event, aiming to reveal the mechanisms and brain regions involved in generating coherent visual perceptions.
Motion computation in olfaction
Odor-direction sensing is a fascinating aspect of sensory biology, where organisms demonstrate remarkable abilities to detect and navigate towards or away from specific odor sources. In this process, specialized sensory receptors interact with volatile molecules in the environment, triggering signal transduction pathways that enable the organism to discern the direction of the odor gradient. From insects to mammals, organisms employ diverse strategies for odor-direction sensing. This capability is essential for various ethologically relevent behaviors, such as foraging, predator avoidance, and mate selection. In this project we are exploring variours mechanisms that enable organisms to detect odors in diverse environments.
Past projects
Cell size regulation in bacterium E. Coli
Cell size regulation is a fundamental aspect of cell biology, essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and ensuring proper growth and division. Various factors, including nutrient availability, environmental conditions, and genetic factors, can influence cell size. E. coli cells employ sophisticated molecular machinery to monitor their size and coordinate growth and division accordingly. In this project we developed a phenomenological model of cell size homeostasis and then experimentally altered molecular entitites involved in cell size monitering to evaluate their affect on cell size.
Non genetic inheritence and phenotypic variability in E. Coli
Stochasticity in biochemical processes leads to variability in physical properties of isogenic cells over time. Although this heterogeneity helps cells survive changing environmental conditions, it is partially restrained by the inheritance of cellular components between consecutive generations. This raises the questions: over what time scale do cellular properties change? And how reliable and stable are the non-genetic inheritance mechanisms of cellular components? We answered these questions by measuring the non-genetic inheritance dynamics of cell properties of sister cells and determined their stability and persistence in the face of molecular noise and environmental fluctuations. This study showed that non-genetic inheritance influences cell properties over several generations, rather than the previously believed 1 or 2 generations. Finally, we corroborated our empirical findings with a theoretical model that successfully reproduced multigenerational memory between sister cells.