Benjamin Fabian

Research Interest

My research focuses on olfactory perception in insects, particularly dipterans, and how experience influences the processing of odors through plastic changes in the nervous system. As part of my PhD thesis, I investigated how several days of exposure to specific odorants alters the morphology and physiology of neurons in the olfactory system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as well as its behavior. In addition to D. melanogaster, I am also working with the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, an important disease vector for humans. Due to recent advances in genetic manipulation, this species is increasingly becoming an important model organism in neurobiological research. The targeted expression of fluorescent dyes in the mosquito's brain enables us to analyze its odor perception in detail - a crucial aspect in understanding how it detects a suitable host for its blood meal.