Explore our latest work in disease models, imaging, and translational metabolic research.
2026
4 June
CONCLUSIONS: This platform provides a scalable and versatile in vivo framework for systematically interrogating genotype-specific nutritional responses in Drosophila. It should facilitate the identification of diet-gene interactions relevant to metabolic disease and support broader nutritional screening across disease models.
2026
22 Jan
Quantitative behavioural analysis is a powerful approach for linking genotype to phenotype, but many existing tools require specialised hardware, extensive preprocessing or coding expertise. We present Segment Anything Model for Behavioural Analysis (SAMBA), an open-access, Google Colab-based pipeline that harnesses the Segment Anything Model 2 (SAM2) for accurate, semi-automated tracking without thresholding or background subtraction.
2025
23 Sept
Open Biology
Embryos are among the most temperature-sensitive life stages. To survive and produce juvenile stages, embryos must be robust to changes in temperature that also change development time profoundly.
2025
20 Feb
Developmental Dynamics : An Official Publication Of The American Association Of Anatomists
CONCLUSIONS: Our study describes a new model of partial phenotypic penetrance in genetically identical embryos. This may serve as a valuable model system in which to understand gene-environment interactions in developmental and epithelial homeostasis.
2024
27 Dec
Journal Of Inherited Metabolic Disease
Short-chain enoyl-CoA hydratase 1 deficiency (ECHS1D) is a rare genetic disorder caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in the ECHS1 gene. ECHS1D is characterised by severe neurological and physical impairment that often leads to childhood mortality.
2024
6 Aug
Open Biology
Nutrition and resilience are linked, though it is not yet clear how diet confers stress resistance or the breadth of stressors that it can protect against. We have previously shown that transiently restricting an essential amino acid can protect Drosophila melanogaster against nicotine poisoning.
2024
31 July
STAR Protocols
The availability of a defined fully synthetic diet for the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster allows for complete and precise manipulation of its nutritional environment. Here, we present a protocol for performing large-scale multivariate nutrient analysis via the traditional diet preparation approach, or by adding nutrient solutions to a baseline medium.
2024
24 Mar
Scientific Reports
Drosophila melanogaster is unique among animal models because it has a fully defined synthetic diet available to study nutrient-gene interactions. However, use of this diet is limited to adult studies due to impaired larval development and survival.
2024
28 Feb
Cell Reports
Inherited metabolic disorders are a group of genetic conditions that can cause severe neurological impairment and child mortality. Uniquely, these disorders respond to dietary treatment; however, this option remains largely unexplored because of low disorder prevalence and the lack of a suitable paradigm for testing diets.
2023
9 Dec
Synapses are specialized junctions between cells that mediate neurotransmission to modify brain activity and body function. Studies on synapse structure and function play an important role in understanding how neurons communicate and the consequences of their dysfunction in neurological disorders.
2023
9 Dec
Methods In Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful genetic model that has been used for many decades to study nervous system function, development, and behavior. There are a large number of developmental and behavioral traits that can be measured to provide a broad readout of neurological function.
2023
28 Nov
Biorxiv : The Preprint Server For Biology
Many mechanistic theories of ageing argue that a progressive failure of somatic maintenance, the use of energy and resources to prevent and repair damage to the cell, underpins ageing. To sustain somatic maintenance an organism must acquire dozens of essential nutrients from the diet, including essential amino acids (EAAs), which are physiologically limiting for many animals.
2023
18 Oct
Communications Biology
Neuroligins are transmembrane cell adhesion proteins well-known for their genetic links to autism spectrum disorders. Neuroligins can function by regulating the actin cytoskeleton, however the factors and mechanisms involved are still largely unknown.
2023
27 Mar
The development and function of male gametes is dependent on a dynamic microtubule network, yet how this is regulated remains poorly understood. We have recently shown that microtubule severing, via the action of the meiotic AAA ATPase protein clade, plays a crucial role in this process.
2022
25 Dec
Amino acid disorders (AADs) are a large group of rare inherited conditions that collectively impact one in 6500 live births, often resulting in rapid neurological decline and death during infancy. For several AADs, including phenylketonuria, dietary modification prevents physiological deterioration and ameliorates symptoms.