Piper Honours Projects

Diet as medicine: investigating how nutrition can enhance health, suppress appetite and extend lifespan in Drosophila

Available Part-Time

Background:  My lab uses the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the mechanisms by which nutrition affects long-term health and behaviour.  In particular the proportion of amino acids is a potent modulator of growth, fecundity, stress resistance, ageing and satiety. Using new innovations in fly diets and methods for their design, projects are available to investigate each of these interactive effects.

Project Aims:  To identify and understand the molecular mechanisms by which diet design can be used to modify fly behaviour and health.

Techniques:  Handling and genetics of Drosophila as well as design and construction of synthetic diets. Basic behavioural assays will be implemented where relevant.

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