Before joining the Connectomics group in Cambridge, I completed my MSc in Neuroscience at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, then took a position as a research assistant at the University of Oxford to work with human neuroimaging data. Here I worked towards identifying neuroimaging and behavioural biomarkers in atypical Alzheimer’s presentations, such as frontotemporal dementia and posterior cortical atrophy.
During my time working with the Connectomics group, I found ways to translate my skills developed in analysis and coding to applications with the synaptic resolution connectomics data available from Drosophila. Much of my time was spent focusing on the reconstruction of second order olfactory neurons, which take input from olfactory sensory neurons in the antennal lobe and project to higher brain areas, notably the mushroom body, which mediates learned behaviours, and the lateral horn, which mediates innate behaviours.
I have recently moved from the Connectomics group in Cambridge to join the department of Alexander Borst at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Munich to do my PhD. Aside from enjoying the wonderful city and nearby Alps, I am working on leveraging data from connectomics, and functional data from other sources, to build biophysical models of neurons in the motion detection pathway of Drosophila. Alongside this, I am also working on analysis from connectomics data to draw inferences regarding the development of T4 and T5 neurons, coupled with a plan to build simulations of dendritic growth, in collaboration with researchers in Frankfurt.
The opportunity to work in the Connectomics group notably allowed me to transition into the Drosophila field from human neuroscience, which has been a wonderful experience for me. Further, and in some ways more importantly, the environment fostered within the lab facilitated growth and training not just for me, but for every research assistant within the group. Building confidence alongside relevant research skills, and an active interest from the senior group members to help the research assistants on their desired research paths, has proven invaluable.