Kristin Scott

Dr. Scott's laboratory elucidates neural circuits underlying Drosophila's gustatory system. She characterized the role of the Gustatory Receptor gene family in the detection of sweet and bitter compounds, the role of a class of ion channels in sampling extracellular water and regulating its intake, discovered ion channels that detect pheromones modulating courtship and identified a new taste modality: the taste of carbon dioxide which informs practical problems including how malarial mosquitos find humans. She also identified neural circuits that control the state of hunger or satiation resulting in feeding behavior based on the nutritional and locomotive state of the animal.