# Molecular design for circuit engineering in the Drosophila brain

> **NIH NIH R21** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $251,573

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Understanding how our brain produces complex feelings, decisions, and behaviors is a daunting task. Each of
the ~130 trillion synapses in the human brain could potentially function as an individual processing unit, yet we
lack methods to study the functional significance of individual synapses within a neural circuit even in
experimentally accessible animals such as the mouse or the fly. Indeed, human genetic studies are now revealing
that mutations that alter the formation or activity of synapses are commonly associated with neurological
conditions ranging from autism spectrum disorder to ADHD to epilepsy. Determining the functional significance
of individual synaptic connections within a circuit could provide insights into the fundamental computations that
underlie brain function and help us better understand the effects of dysfunction. Here, we will use rational
molecular design, in vitro screening, cell culture approaches and functional work in vivo in the Drosophila brain
to develop a new, revolutionary technology that will allow scientists to re-engineer connectivity in the living brain,
preventing the formation of specific synaptic contacts between neurons to test specific hypotheses on circuit
dynamics and behavior. We anticipate that this work will expand our mechanistic understanding of how brain
circuits function in the normal state, as well as allow the design of new experiments that accurately reproduce
synaptic dysfunctions known to underlie human disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10991123
- **Project number:** 1R21EY036651-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Marco Gallio
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $251,573
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10991123

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10991123, Molecular design for circuit engineering in the Drosophila brain (1R21EY036651-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10991123. Licensed CC0.

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