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Divya Sitaraman

@dsitaraman.bsky.social
418 followers 1.3K following 71 posts

Associate Professor. New fly lab PI, circuits and behavior enthusiast, IITB/Delhi Univ/Mizzou/Yale/Janelia.

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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Interested in incorporating brain connectivity datasets into your teaching or research but unsure where to begin? Please visit the Connecting to Connectomes event page: neuronline.sfn.org/professional... for registration and scheduling details. Its an honor to present with this team.
neuronline.sfn.org
Connecting to Connectomes
<p>The Connecting to Connectomes webinar will provide current and future faculty members who have limited connectomics experience with tools to incorporate connectomics datasets and analyses into thei...
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I am so sorry. Lab wise we are in a similar situation. Hopefully we will all find ways to persist and support our trainees. Seeing what they are having to go through right now breaks my heart even more.
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Carolina Rezaval @crezaval.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
We’re recruiting postdocs to join our @wellcometrust.bsky.social , Decoding Competition in the Brain. How does the brain resolve competing needs and prioritise behaviour? 📅 New deadline: 15 September 🔗 Apply: rezavallab.org Please share!
rezavallab.org
Home
​ ​Animals must make crucial behavioural choices on a minute by minute basis to survive in a changing environment. A long-standing enigma is, how are alternative options evaluated in the brain...
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Crystal Rogers, PhD @rogerslabucd.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Share this opportunity with your eligible undergrads! The @promegacorporation.bsky.social has a program called DOORS that offers mentorship and $$! www.promega.com/global/doors...
promega.com
D.O.O.R.S. Program
The BioPharmaceutical Technology Institute in partnership with Promega&#39;s, Diversification of Our Research Scientists (D.O.O.R.S) is to recognizes and empowers underrepresented minority students by...
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Katrin Vogt @katrinvogt.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Beautiful synaptic circuit dissection👏 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
An octopamine-glutamate cotransmitting neuron gates aggressive escalation through layered inhibition in Drosophila
Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved behavior essential for survival and reproduction, yet escalation to high-intensity forms entails substantial metabolic costs and injury risks, necessitating p...
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
My mother passed away, after a life defined by grace, humility, and courage. Even in her final days, her words to me were the same as always: "Himmat karo" — have courage. She lived it — hardworking, generous to all. As we grieve, we stay inspired by her. Rest in peace, Amma. 🙏
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Noah Whiteman @nkwhiteman.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
So excited to announce our search for 4 postdocs (funded by the Simons Foundation) who will use genomics to "test how ecological interactions, natural selection, natural enemies, hybridization & environmental gradients shape...tropical tree communities" in Panama: stri.si.edu/story/bci-ev... ...1
stri.si.edu
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I was having similar feelings about this. Science will be amazing and I am excited about the outcomes. But as someone who benefitted from the visitor program I worry about singular focus at the cost of smaller connected labs and closing of other equally cool areas of research e.g. 4D cell phys.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Maybe there is hope for this one. Although a small grant this is a very new project direction for my lab and I am glad that reviewers found it exciting. Fingers crossed for this one.
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Gordon @gordon.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
everything is probably smarter than we think
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
If this going to happen anyway then the only positive is all the time we will get back. No more Incessant logging in and clicking on status. NSF doesn't have scores I have always wondered how that works from a PO perspective. low,medium,high= nd, competitive-nd and competitive? sad and confusing.
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Ishmail Abdus-Saboor @ishmailsaboor.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Long-term editing of brain circuits with engineered electrical synapses! I still remember years ago when Kafui Dzirasa from @dukeuni.bsky.social @hhmi-science.bsky.social called me beaming with excitement about this new technology. Here it is today in Nature. www.nature.com/articles/s41... .
nature.com
Long-term editing of brain circuits using an engineered electrical synapse - Nature
Connexin proteins found in&nbsp;white perch fish were&nbsp;used to engineer synthetic electrical synapses, enabling&nbsp;precision circuit&nbsp;editing in mammals.
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Federation of European Neuroscience Societies - FENS @fens.org · 28/04/2026
🧠 Statement from @network-alba.bsky.social! 🌍 The ALBA Network is deeply concerned with growing visa barriers and calls on the global community to take action and ensure a fair and inclusive system that strengthens global neuroscience. ✍️ buff.ly/fHP50G1 👉 Sign: buff.ly/G2NeO9X
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
At this point my entire career just feels “competitive not discussed.”
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Meet Zandawala @zandawala.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Can a single brain cell decide whether to eat or not? 🧠🪰 Turns out... yes. And we found it in the fruit fly. A pair of neurons called SELKs (subesophageal leucokinin neurons) can drive feeding behavior in both directions. They promote it or suppress it. Here's how: 🧵
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Huge thanks to our funders #NIGMS and #NSF
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Excited to share our latest paper from the lab, now out in iScience! 🧠✨ Huge credit to the incredible team whose creativity and hard work made this study possible—so proud of my team! 🙌 #Neuroscience #Sleep #Drosophila #Behavior #Connectomics www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
cell.com
Octopamine regulates neural circuits in the mushroom body and central complex, influencing sleep and arousal.
Sleep is a widespread yet incompletely understood phenomenon, and animals exhibit diverse arousal states beyond the simple binary of sleep and wake. Essential behaviors such as feeding, courtship, and...
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Another breakthrough in connectomics!!!
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Maria de la Paz Fernandez @mariadelapax.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
We are so looking forward to CSHL Neurobiology of Drosophila 2026 🔬 🧠. The new application deadline is April 13th. Come join us! @cshlnews.bsky.social @cshlcourses.bsky.social @rister.bsky.social
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Olivia Goldman PhD @oliviagoldman.net · 31/03/2026
New article from @cientificolatino.com !!! On the struggles of first year grad students and how to support them 💜
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Oh I hear you. 2 weeks ago I was in that spot and I cancelled all meetings and had multiple tabs open on 2 computers for each week and camp. I got 50% of desired camp bookings and we will now look for other less popular ones to fill the summer and plan vacation around no camp weeks. All the best.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Hahaha. I agree. When does one’s point become so key that they ignore evidence. Sadly we only find these contaminating cells while others have beautiful breathtaking slides and data.
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Hannah Haberkern @hannah-haberkern.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
📢 Join us, the Haberkern lab, @uni-wuerzburg.de for a postdoc studying neural circuit mechanisms of navigation. You’ll spearheading neurophysiology experiments on our brand new 2P! ⏳ Apply by 28th February 2026 Details: www.haberkernlab.de/docs/ENPostd... #neuroscience #academicjobs #postdoc
On the left, the image shows a schematic of a fly head, ring neurons and EPG neurons together with some calcium imaging frames. On the right is a photo of a fly on a ball in virtual reality and another schematic of a VR system.
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Sachin Sethi @sethisachin.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
cell.com
Neuronal calcium spikes enable vector inversion in the Drosophila brain
In the fly central complex, PFNa neurons switch from firing classical sodium spikes when depolarized to firing non-canonical T-type calcium spikes when hyperpolarized. This bidirectional spiking allow...
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Genetics Society of America @genetics-gsa.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
We’re excited to announce @tarnopol.bsky.social as the recipient of the 2026 Larry Sandler Award! 🎉 She’ll present the Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture during the #Dros26 opening session on March 4—she'll share how her research explores how protein toxins evolve to shape host–parasite interactions.
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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 16/02/2026
"researchers have found that the relentless males are driving their population to extinction." Well, that sounds familiar... www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/s...
Constant Sexual Aggression Drives Female Tortoises to Walk Off Cliffs
On a remote island in North Macedonia, male Hermann’s tortoises outnumber females 19 to 1, an imbalance driving the population to extinction.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
If you are interested in my research program and also want industry experience here is the opportunity for us to work together.
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Sam Wang @samwang.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
News from central Jersey: I'm running to represent New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. By entering the fray, I hope to bring ideas of repairing our frayed republic. Not only to defend it in 2026, but to build something stronger, for generations to come! samwang.substack.com/p/entering-t...
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allen institute @alleninstitute.org · 26/01/2026
Educators, the deadline to apply for our python workshop is approaching quickly! Apply by February 2 to join us in Seattle for this hands-on workshop. 💻 No prior coding experience needed. ✈️ Travel, meals, & stipend included. 🔗 alleninstitute.org/events/educator-…
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Katrin Vogt @katrinvogt.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
The second paper from the lab is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We discovered that cannibalistic behavior in fly larvae is social-context dependent. Larval groups avoid dead conspecifics; individuals show high attraction. They only do it when no one is watching 😉
Several fly larvae are crawling on an agar surface.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
So sorry for your loss Casey. As an international trainee I can understand what those connections mean in a new country and as someone who used catmaid in my teaching I am so sorry for the loss to our scientific community.
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Konrad Kording @kordinglab.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Another cool paper from Iran: nature.com/articles/s41... Prenatal stress makes mouse offspring more anxious, hyperactive, forgetful, and more drawn to morphine while laterodorsal tegmentum cholinergic neurons become hyperexcitable. From Kerman, a city with reported violent crackdowns on protests.
nature.com
The hyperexcitability of laterodorsal tegmentum cholinergic neurons accompanies adverse behavioral and cognitive outcomes of prenatal stress - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - The hyperexcitability of laterodorsal tegmentum cholinergic neurons accompanies adverse behavioral and cognitive outcomes of prenatal stress
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
So I guess we went from not discussed to competitive not discussed. What a tease!!!
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Please apply. Amazing opportunity to dive into connectomics datasets for research, educational initiatives, outreach and whatever else your heart desires. Feb 2nd deadline.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
“Not discussed” on NIH eRA today. My next few months have been planned out for me so I guess we do nothing today or this week. Maybe start with the 3hr 40 min Bollywood movie that everyone is recommending.
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Thomas Andrillon @thomasandrillon.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Infra-slow brain rhythms found in sleep in lizards, humans, rats and pigeons! www.nature.com/articles/s41... Congrats @antbergel.bsky.social!
nature.com
Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals - Nature Neuroscience
Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping our understanding of the ev...
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allen institute @alleninstitute.org · 19/12/2025
Teach neuroscience to undergrads? Learn how to incorporate our connectomics data into your courses! 🗓️ July 23-24 🛫 Travel funds available ⏳ Apply by Feb. 2. alleninstitute.org/events/incorpora…
alleninstitute.org
Incorporating open connectomics data into teaching neuroscience
Learn to analyze open neuroscience data and introduce dry lab modules into your existing classes at the Incorporating Open Connectomics data into...
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Yvette Fisher @yvetteefisher.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!! How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭 led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman: “Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Thread ⬇️
Schematic of how ER-EPG plasticity enables the bump of activity in EPGs to accurately track visual cues. As a fly makes a counter-clockwise turn (top to bottom) it will view visual cues (e.g. the sun) from a new angle and the EPG activity bump (red) will swing clockwise around the network by integrating self motion signals with these visual inputs. When the fly faces a different angle, distinct visual ER neurons are active. Plasticity forms a trough of weak synapses (large circles - strong synapses, small circles - weak synapses) that allow ER neurons with distinct visual tuning to move the EPG bump via disinhibition.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
No not an ESI. Thanks for all the information.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Is there any clear advantage to applying to MIRA as a New Investigator (NI), given that the NOFO also mentions established investigators?
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allen institute @alleninstitute.org · 09/12/2025
Electron microscopy is @nature.com's Method of the Year! 🧠🔬🏆 @natmethods.nature.com shares why MICrONS and FlyWire are proof that #ElectronMicroscopy is helping us see the brain and its incredible complexity at a new level: www.nature.com/articles/s41592-025-… 🧠📈 #studyBRAIN
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
No NCE button for R15s nearing their end date—1st NCEs need prior approval through the NIH Prior Approval Module. More steps, delays, and stress since active R15 PIs can’t be PIs on other NIH grants. Nothing I submitted in 2025 has even been reviewed/decisioned. I guess it was nice having a lab.....
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
No NCE button for R15s nearing their end date—1st NCEs need prior approval through the NIH Prior Approval Module. More steps, delays, and stress since active R15 PIs can’t be PIs on other NIH grants. Nothing I submitted in 2025 has even been reviewed/decisioned. I guess it was nice having a lab.....
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
NCE button has not appeared for my R15 grant that is ending 02/28/26. Did it appear for you 90 days before end date or later? I am panicking and wondering if its time to contact PO and GMS.
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tomtom-auer.bsky.social @tomtom-auer.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Excited to share the latest work from the lab: rdcu.be/eRWuD Great team effort, led by @enriberti.bsky.social first at @unil.bsky.social and now @unifr.bsky.social; with fantastic collaborators @ribeirocarlitos.bsky.social and @dahaniel.muench.bio.
rdcu.be
Evolution of taste processing shifts dietary preference
Nature - Calcium imaging of taste neurons and the ventral brain provides insight into evolutionary divergence of food choice in Drosophila species, supporting a role of sensorimotor processing in...
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Matthijs Dorst @mattneuro.dorst-lab.org · 26/11/2025
When you join a lab to do some voltage imaging
An old record player set by the side of the road, with a note reading: "does not work but could be fun to fix!"
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Leslie B Vosshall PhD @leslievosshall.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
@hhmi.org Summer Undergraduate Research Experience - #CechFellows named in honor of Prof Tom Cech Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025 Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!! www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
hhmi.org
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
I will be co-teaching a summer course at Allen Institute on connectomics education please apply. Travel support, new connectomics data sets and learning directly from the scientists who built these datasets. Details here: alleninstitute.org/events/incor...
alleninstitute.org
Incorporating open connectomics data into teaching neuroscience
Learn to analyze open neuroscience data and introduce dry lab modules into your existing classes at the Incorporating Open Connectomics data into...
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Divya Sitaraman @dsitaraman.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
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