Achievement

Trainee Matt Beverly (Sengupta lab) is applying computational methods to investigate whether animals retain a long-term memory of their developmental history. Adult C. elegans subjected to distinct developmental histories exhibit markedly different gene expression patterns and behaviors, and these phenotypes are mediated via changes in genome-wide chromatin modification profiles. Matt has carried out all bioinformatics-based analyses of transcriptional profiling data, as well as detailed computationally intensive analyses of Solexa sequencing data. Matt is describing the molecular and neuronal correlates of thermosensory behaviors in C. elegans. This work has involved the development and implementation of behavioral assays requiring imaging via machine vision and the use of custom-written algorithms. Matt has combined molecular biology, neuroscience, biophysics and bioinformatics and computation to address issues of gene regulation and behavior in C. elegans.