Student researcher studying neural circuits in larval zebrafish

Faculty Mentor: Adam Douglass

Title: Associate Professor

College: Medicine

School / Department: Neurobiology

Project description

The modulatory neurotransmitter dopamine plays essential roles in locomotion, sensory processing, reward, and a host of other behavioral processes. Our lab studies the cellular and neural circuit-level mechanisms that allow dopamine to serve such diverse functions. By working in zebrafish, we gain unique access to these phenomena due to the fish's small size and near-complete optical transparency during its larval stages of development, which allow us to image and manipulate activity in each of the animal's 100,000 neurons using light microscopy techniques. In combination with well-established tools for manipulating the animal's genome, these techniques provide an extraordinary degree of experimental tractability for studying a vertebrate brain.

Keywords: Neuroscience, molecular biology, zebrafish, data analysis, programming

Student Role: We are looking for a student to assist in the development and maintenance of transgenic zebrafish lines to be used in multiple ongoing projects. The student will receive hands-on instruction in the techniques needed to create DNA plasmids, to microinject them into early fish embryos, and to screen for their integration into the genome. As training proceeds, motivated students will have the opportunity to perform their own fluorescence imaging and behavior experiments and will be given the freedom to work independently on projects of their own design. This work can be carried out for credits and/or as the basis of a thesis project.

Student Benefits: The student will learn essential techniques in molecular biology, light microscopy, and neuroscience, and well as the basics of experimental design, data analysis, and programming in MATLAB or Python. There is the possibility of this becoming a paid position for the right student.

Project Duration: 5-20 hrs per week depending on student background and interest.

Opportunity Type: Research Assistant

Opportunity Location Type: In Person

Is this a paid opportunity: ToBeDetermined

Paid Description:

Volunteer, Prepare a UROP proposal, Write an Honors Thesis or Senior Thesis, Earn independent study credit

Minimum Requirements: Prior coursework in basic molecular biology, neuroscience, or programming is a plus but we are happy to consider anyone with a strong desire to gain research experience.

How To Apply: Contact Adam Douglass, adam.douglass@neuro.utah.edu