CrawFly Invertebrate Neurophysiology Workshop
ADInstruments and the Department of Biology at Cornell University will co-host a 5 day hands-on workshop for higher education life science instructors seeking to expand their curriculum reach in the neurosciences.
The training event will be based on topics explored in the “Crawdad Project,” a three-year program funded by the National Science Foundation to promote the use of invertebrates in undergraduate physiology and neuroscience lab courses.
The goals of this hosted workshop are to provide teachers hands-on experience with invertebrate preparations that demonstrate basic principles of nervous system physiology, and can easily be incorporated into laboratory courses back home.
**2 Scholarships are available for this workshop - additional information is available on the registration page which can be accessed below. The application deadline is May 1st, 2024**
Register for the course by clicking here
The scholarship application can be accessed by clicking here
We have secured a group block at Canopy by Hilton Ithaca Downtown for attendees and instructors.
The hotel is offering a rate of $189/night, you can book using the direct link here.
This location also offers a complimentary shuttle to/from the airport.
Date and Time:
June 11th - 15th, 2024
Location:
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Course Agenda
- FRUITFLY: These exercises will introduce educators to modern neurogenetic techniques in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Topics to be covered:• Drosophila genetics• Optogenetics• ERG recording• Animal behavior• Synaptic transmission • Synaptic plasticity
Skills to be covered: • Generating and rearing transgenic Drosophila• Using tissue specific genetic expression techniques• Building inexpensive systems for optogenetic experiments• Quantitative analysis of animal behavior• Recording excitatory junctional potentials at the larval neuromuscular junction• Recording electroretinograms from wild type and mutant animals• Recording action potential in flight muscles through optogenetic stimulation of the Giant Fiber system
- CRAWDAD:
Topics to be covered:• Motor innervation • Neuroanatomy • Sensory systems • Ionic bases of resting and action potentials • Synaptic transmission • Synaptic plasticity • Central pattern generation for rhythmic motor activity
Skills to be covered: • Neuromuscular Intro - Preparations used in Crayfish Motor Nerve, Resting Potential, Axonal conduction velocity; Rhythmic Motor Activity and Synaptic labs • Dissecting Tips - General advice on successful dissection • Recording Tips - Background and troubleshooting for extra- and intracellular computer based data acquisition • Data Analysis - including spike sorting, matching presynaptic action potentials with postsynaptic potentials; measuring AP conduction velocity; calculating time constants for sensory receptor adaptation
**A detailed schedule will be provided one week before the workshop.
**Please note ADInstruments is not responsible for travel or accommodations. Please book your travel arrangements only after receiving a course confirmation email from ADInstruments.
“If you’re trying to implement invertebrates into your lab work or into the classroom but you don't necessarily have people around you to help you or guide you, this is it. This is a great place to network, to get ideas, and to gain that knowledge of how to implement them in a classroom setting. It’s perfect.”
-Genevieve Bell