sleep, brain development, & behavior
It's been a busy few months, lots of exciting science, a new rotation student (Mike!), and plenty of other things to keep us busy. But not too busy for a Friday afternoon lab screening of R Kelly's "Trapped in the closet" while fly pushing. Because why not?
Another friday evening lab BYOB, this time only the MD/PhDs remain...
We bid Dave goodbye with parting gifts, off to Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research. We'll miss you big guy, thank you for all you've done for the lab. BUT, welcome Charlette, our newest research tech!
Matt's daughter Mabel and her classmates joined us today for a lab visit! They learned all about the fruit fly life cycle, negative geotaxis, sleep, aggression, and played "guess how many flies in the vial". Clearly some future scientists in this group.
The Kayser Lab has received the New Program Development Award from the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)! This funding will help support exciting new work in lab that we just aren't ready to tell you about yet...
Congrats to Samy who received a Neuroscience Graduate Group Hearst Foundation Fellowship for 2016! This recognizes Samy's overall outstandingness.
During a great visit to University of Iowa in April, Matt joined a DeLTA center podcast with Mark Blumberg and Erik Jackson. Prepare to be riveted.
Congrats to Samy and Leela for both passing their prelim exams within the past 2 days!! Now get back to work.
Ben doesn't like sweets (?) so hummus birthday cakes for Ben and Milan (sorry Milan)! After late day fly pushing, we made up for it with lab happy hour.
Congratulations to Emilia for receiving a McMorris Autism Research Award!
Congratulations to Austin for receiving the Biological Basis of Behavior (BBB) Summer Research Internship, awarded to 1 undergrad each year at Penn. Way to go Austin!
Matt is named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Neuroscience!
So many good things to celebrate...Samy is engaged, Leela is engaged; birthdays for Emilia, Leela, Matt; Madeline joined the lab, Elelbin is rotating, Natalie is rotating....whew!
That's right. These two jokers are joining the lab for their PhDs. Happy holidays indeed.
Matt receives the March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Research Award!
A good time was had by all, which explains why all my bourbon is gone.
We are thrilled to have 2 MD/PhD students rotating with us this fall. Leela made a good impression with rum-soaked baked goods on day 1. Samy just hogs all the incubator space. But we love them both equally.
As summer winds down, we are sad to say goodbye to Dave (teaching at Bryn Mawr), Zander (back to Vassar), and Neil (back to Stanford), but very excited to welcome Milan to the lab! Plus a little daytime corn hole and jenga is good for the soul I hear.
Take home message: sleep less --> fight worse --> less game. In flies, anyways.
Celebrating our paper on sleep deprivation and aggression getting accepted to eLife!
...but a few more drinks in, dealing with the sadness of Dave leaving the lab soon, as well as the realization that Ben doesn't know how to frown.
