In January 2025, Juan Ignacio Sanguinetti will be starting his lab at UPenn, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. He is looking for R.A.s, Master’s, Ph.D., and Postdocs for various projects in the Integrated Biology of Natural Behaviors. His vision for the lab seeks to integrate ecology, neurobiology, genetics, and evolution.
You can learn more about the approach here: www.neuroetho.com.
The lab will work with two non-traditional animal models involving New World rodents.
IN THE LAB
In the lab, the genus Peromyscus will be used as a model, which has evolved very distinct behaviors in over 50 species across North America (https://elifesciences.org/articles/06813). In this system, neurobiology and comparative genetics will be used to study the neural and genetic bases of juvenile peer play behavior, social cognition, and decision-making in spatial behavior. Techniques such as dopamine photometry and high-density freely moving electrophysiological recordings (using neuropixels) will be employed. These recordings will be combined with recent methods of behavior quantification using artificial neural networks. Finally, different species will be used for comparative behavior, neurobiology, and genetics. Recently, transgenic animals have also been developed using CRISPR-Cas9.
IN THE FIELD
Extensive fieldwork will be conducted in Panama, studying the behavior of the rodent known as the Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata). This South American rodent is found in tropical areas of South America. The work there will focus on studying fruit consumption, evaluating the value of fruits, and their behavior of hiding and storing seeds for the future. Ecological monitoring technology, camera traps, tagging, and technology for recording GPS, audio, ambient light, and 9-axis movement, and possibly EEG and EKG will be used. Eventually, the aim is to develop this animal model for neurobiological studies of decision-making.
Thank you for reading, and if you can share this or think of someone who might be interested, it would be greatly appreciated. Juan Ignacio Sanguinetti is available for any communication via this email (ji.sanguinetti [at] gmail.com) or using the website.
