Leslie Griffith Research Group

Brandeis University

Griffith studies behavior from the molecule to the whole animal. Her group uses Drosophila to investigate how internal state and environmental cues alter sleep, movement, circadian rhythms, and courtship. Video and automated monitoring connect behavioral measurements with imaging and electrophysiological recordings of neurons. At the biochemical level, the laboratory examines calcium signaling and CaMKII-related pathways involved in synaptic function and plasticity. The central research opportunity is linking a defined cellular signaling mechanism to changes in neural activity and then to an observable behavior.