DICKINSON LAB - Key Persons
I no longer work in the Dickinson Lab effective July 01, 2020 (after almost a decade in the lab!).
If you need any assistance, please contact Lilian Porter (lilianp@caltech.edu) or Michael Dickinson (flyman@caltech.edu) or preferably the new lab manager!
My research is focused on investigating the neural circuitry underlying flight in Drosophila, with a particular focus on the integration of sensory information from multiple modalities to produce a motor code for wing control. I am electrically recording from neurons during Drosophila flight to better understand the contributions of individual neurons to this behavior. I hope to integrate these physiological recordings with observed changes in wing kinematics, measured with computer vision, and develop a model for this flight control circuit.
My name is Amir Behbahani. I'm a mechanical engineer who got interested in studying biological systems. When I watch animals, I try not only to learn how they do their daily activities but also how their behavior can guide me to help people to have a better life.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at Michael Dickinson Lab at the division of Biology and Biological Engineering (BBE) at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, USA.
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- Group Leader, University of Freiburg
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- Group Leader Caesar Institute
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- Asst. Professor, UNC Department of Biology
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- Professor, University of Delft
I am interested in the neural circuits and computations underlying complex behaviors in insects.
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- Professor, University of British Columbia
My research is focused on understanding the neural computations underlying flight control in Drosophila. I am particularly interested in using control theory and mathematics to formally describe neural circuitry and the resulting behaviors.
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- Group Leader, Wageningen University and Research Center
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- Asst. Professor in Engineering at University of Nevada, Reno
Regan, W., van Breugel, F., and Lipson, H. Towards evolvable hovering flight on a physical ornithopter. (2006). Alife X conference proceedings.
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- Associate Professor, the Rockefeller University
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- Group Leader, HHMI Janelia
I am interested in using both mathematical modeling and experimental methods to examine neurobiological systems at the behavioral level. In particular, I am applying concepts from stochastic processes and control theory to better understand the highly robust and efficient odor plume navigation behavior exhibited by the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
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- Research Scientist, Lawrence Livermore
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- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- Research
van Breugel, F. and Dickinson, M. H. Plume-Tracking behavior of flying Drosophila emerges from a set of distinct sensory-motor reflexes. (2014). Current Biology.
van Breugel, F. and Dickinson, M. H. The visual control of landing and obstacle avoidance in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. (2012). J. Exp. Biol.
Complex and intellectually challenging problems can be so commonplace that they escape our attention. The research in my lab focuses on one such everyday phenomenon - the motion of a fly through the air. While the buzz of fly wings is more likely to elicit a sense of annoyance than wonder, insect flight behavior links a series of fundamental processes within both the physical and biological sciences: neuronal signaling within brains, the dynamics of unsteady fluid flow, the structural mechanics of composite materials, and the behavior of complex nonlinear systems. The aim of my research is to elucidate the means by which flies accomplish their aerodynamic feats. A rigorous mechanistic description of flight requires an integration of biology, engineering, fluid mechanics, and control theory. The long term goal, however, is not simply to understand the material basis of insect flight, but to develop its study into a model that can provide insight to the behavior and robustness of complex systems in general.
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- Group Leader, HHMI Janelia
Odor Plume Tracking. When flies, mosquitoes, and other insects encounter an attractive odor, they turn upwind. Because odor plumes are broken apart by turbulent flows, the insect invariably exits the plume, sometimes after just a few milliseconds. This triggers zigzagging back and forth, until they re-encounter the odor plume. This strategy generally leads them close to the odor source, however, visual and other cues are necessary for the final stage of search. Read more about how flies use odors, and how mosquitoes integrate multiple sensory modalities.
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- Group Leader, University of Lausanne
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- Research Associate, Oregon State University
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- Research Coordinator, University of Washington
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- Research
- Vice - President at IO Rodeo Inc
I'll be starting my lab in the Entomology Dept. at UC Riverside in July 2020!