Research
Our main goals are to understand (1) the neural basis underlying instinctive behaviors and (2) how internal states shape information processing in such circuits. Instinctive behaviors such as parenting, aggression or mating are orchestrated by evolutionarily sculpted neural circuits. Considerable progress has been made in deconstructing these circuits, but is has also become clear that their function profoundly depends on animals’ current physiological – i.e. reproductive, metabolic etc. – state. We know little about the cellular and circuit-level mechanisms by which such states alter neural processing in vivo. Studying these mechanisms will provide us with crucial insights into brain function in health and disease. We use a multidisciplinary approach, combining circuit neuroscience with behavioral profiling and cellular/molecular biology, to address these questions.
Neural Circuit basis of instinct
We investigate the functional circuit architecture underlying instinctive behaviors, such as parenting. We are driven by biological questions and use state-of-the-art systems neuroscience approaches (e.g., viral tracing, in vivo imaging, electrophysiology, optogenetics, behavioral assays) to answer them.
Circuit logic of internal state changes
We address how physiological states such as pregnancy, stress, sleep or hunger affect information processing in neural circuits, and how this orchestrates adaptive behavioral changes. A current area of interest are states mediated by hormones.
Tool development
We are developing viral-genetic tools to delineate and interrogate the neural circuits underlying instinctive behaviors and to determine how the function of such circuits is affected by internal states.
People
(in order of joining the lab)
JOHANNES (JONNY) KOHL - PI
patty wai - staff scientist
RACHIDA AMMARI - POSTDOC
FRANCESCO MONACA - PHD STUDENT
MINGRAN CAO - PhD student
Boehringer Ingelheim Fellow
Neven Borak - PhD student
Wellcome Trust Neuroscience PhD Programme
Bradley Jamieson - Postdoc
vasyl mykytiuk - phd student
Irene salgarella - phd student
Wellcome Trust Optical Biology PhD Programme
Basma Husain - postdoc
Lina El Rasheed - MSc student (UCL)
Swang Liang - Research Assistant
ALUMNI
Estelle Nassar (2019-21) - Research assistant
Matthew Lee (2020-21) - MSc student
Vanessa Lopez (2021-22) - MSc student
Aashna Sahni (2021-22) - MSc student
Andres Crespo (2022-23) - Staff scientist
Maxwell Chen (2021-23) - MSc student / Research assistant
News
2023/12 - Rachida and Francesco win a Crick Scientific Achievement Award - congrats!
2023/11 - Swang Liang joins the lab as a Research Assistant. Welcome!
2023/10 - Lina El Rasheed joins the lab as an MSc student - welcome!
2023/10 - Rachida's and Francesco's paper on how hormone-mediated neural remodelling drives parenting onset during pregnancy is out in Science. Congrats!
2023/08 - The lab is awarded a BBSRC Pioneer Grant.
2023/05 - Basma Husain starts as a Postdoc in the lab. Welcome Basma!
2023/04 - Our paper describing a low-cost device for cryoanesthesia of neonatal rodents is out in HardwareX. This has been a collaborative effort with the Crick's fantastic Making Lab.
2022/10 - Irene Salgarella starts as a Wellcome Trust Optical Biology PhD student in the lab. Welcome Irene!
2022/05 - Andres Crespo starts as an interim lab manager. Welcome Andres!
2021/10 - Vasyl Mykytiuk starts as PhD student in the lab. Welcome Vasyl!
2021/10 - Vanessa López, Aashna Sahni and Maxwell Chen start as MSc students in the lab - welcome!
2021/06 - Bradley wins the Julia Buckingham Award of the British Society of Neuroendocrinology. Congrats!
2021/01 - Mingran is awarded a Boehringer Ingelheim PhD Fellowship. Congrats Mingran!
2020/10 - Mingran Cao starts as PhD student in the lab. Welcome Mingran!
2020/09 - Matthew Lee starts as an MSc students in the lab. Welcome Matthew!
2020/09 - New insight article by Neven and Jonny in eLife.
2020/09 - Neven Borak starts as a Wellcome Trust Neuroscience PhD student in the lab. Welcome Neven!
2020/09 - Bradley Jamieson starts as a Postdoc in the lab. Welcome Bradley!
2020/05 - New preview by Rachida and Jonny in Neuron.
2020/02 - New review on the neural circuit basis of parenting by Jonny in Current Opinion in Neurobiology.
2020/01 - New dispatch by Francesco and Jonny in Current Biology.
2019/10 - Estelle Nassar joins the lab as a Research Assistant. Welcome Estelle!
2019/09 - Francesco Monaca starts as PhD student in the lab. Welcome Francesco!
2019/06 - Rachida Ammari starts as a Postdoc in the lab. Welcome Rachida!
2019/05 - The lab is awarded an ERC Starting Grant.
2019/03 - Patty Wai joins the lab as a Staff Scientist / Lab Manager. Welcome Patty!
2019/01 - Jonny receives a NARSAD Young Investigator Award.
2019/01 - The lab opens its doors at the Francis Crick Institute.
publications
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Cao M, Ammari R, Chen MX, Wai P, Sahni A, Liang S, Legrave N, Macrae J, Strom M and Kohl J. Integration of hunger and hormonal state gates infant-directed aggression. bioRxiv, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.25.625278v1 (2024).
Ammari R#, Monaca F#, Cao M, Nassar E, Wai E, Del Grosso NA, Lee M, Borak N, Schneider-Luftman D and Kohl J. Hormone-mediated neural remodeling orchestrates parenting onset during pregnancy. Science, 382(6666):76-81; doi: 10.1126/science.adi0576 (2023) pdf. link for full access (# equal contribution)
Jamieson BB, Cano-Ferrer X, Konstantinou G, de Launoit E, Renier N, Imbert A and Kohl J. A low-cost device for cryoanesthesia of neonate rodents. HardwareX, e00417; doi: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246806722300024X (2023); bioRxiv 2022.06.09.495437; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.09.495437.pdf (2022).
Autry AE, Wu Z, Kohl J, Bambah-Mukku D, Rubinstein ND, Marin-Rodriguez B, Carta I, Sedwick V and Dulac C. Perifornical area Urocortin-3 neurons promote infant-directed neglect and aggression. eLife, doi: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64680 (2021); bioRxiv https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2019/07/09/697334.full.pdf (2019).
Borak N and Kohl J. A possible link between olfaction and miscarriage. eLife, doi: 10.7554/eLife.62534 (2020). pdf (Insight)
Ammari R and Kohl J. Charting a Path Toward Aggression. Neuron, 106(4):556-558. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.04.029 (2020). pdf (Preview)
Monaca F and Kohl J. Neuroscience: Plasticity Matters for Mating. Current Biology, 30 (2), R86-R88. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.052 (2020). pdf (Dispatch)
Kohl J. Parenting - a paradigm for investigating the neural circuit basis of behavior. Curr Op. Neurobiol. 60:84-91. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.11.011 (2020). pdf
Kohl J. Circuits for care. Science 362(6411):168-169. doi: 10.1126/science.aav1249 (2018). pdf
Kohl J, Babayan BM, Rubinstein ND, Autry AE, Marin-Rodriguez B, Kapoor V, Miyamichi K, Zweifel LS, Luo L and Dulac C. Functional circuit architecture underlying parental behaviour. Nature 556(7701):326-331. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0027-0 (2018). pdf
Spotlight in Trends in Neurosciences by Fischer & O'Connell
Kohl J and Dulac C. Neural control of parental behaviors. Curr Op. Neurobiol. 49:116-122. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.02.002 (2018). pdf
Kohl J, Autry AE and Dulac C. The neurobiology of parenting: A neural circuit perspective. Bioessays 39(1): 1-11. doi: 10.1002/bies.201600159 (2017). pdf
Renier N, Adams EL, Kirst C, Wu Z, Azevedo R, Kohl J, Autry AE, Kadiri L, Umadevi K, Zhou Y, Wang VX, Tang CY, Olsen O, Dulac C, Osten P, Tessier-Lavigne M. Mapping of brain activity by automated volume analysis of immediate early genes. Cell 165(7): 1789-1802. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.007 (2016). pdf
Kohl J, Huoviala P and Jefferis GSXE. Pheromone processing in Drosophila. Curr Op. Neurobiol. 34: 149-57. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2015.06.009 (2015). pdf
Schneider R, Hosy E, Kohl J, Klueva J, Choquet D, Thomas U, Voigt A and Heine M. Mobility of calcium channels in the presynaptic membrane. Neuron 86(3): 672-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.03.050 (2015). pdf
Kohl J, Ng J, Cachero S, Ciabatti E, Dolan MJ, Sutcliffe B, Tozer A, Ruehle S, Krueger D, Frechter S, Branco T, Tripodi M, Jefferis GSXE. Ultrafast tissue staining with chemical tags. PNAS 111(36): E3805-14. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1411087111 (2014). pdf
Kohl J, Ostrovsky AD, Frechter S and Jefferis GSXE. A bidirectional circuit switch reroutes pheromone signals in male and female brains. Cell 155(7): 1610-23. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.025 (2013). pdf
Kohl J and Jefferis GSXE. Decoding the fly brain. Current Biology 21(1): R19-20. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2010.11.067 (2011). pdf
Funding
JOIN
We are always looking for highly motivated and creative people to join our lab. We are part of a diverse and dynamic research environment with exceptional resources in one of the most exciting scientific hubs in the world.
Postdoctoral Fellows
If you are interested in joining the group as a postdoc, please contact Jonny with (1) a cover letter detailing prior research experience and future career goals, (2) a CV and (3) the names and contact details of 2-3 referees. Applicants are encouraged to apply for external funding (e.g. EMBO, HFSP, Sir Henry Wellcome, Branco Weiss, DFG, SNF, Newton International, L’Oréal-UNESCO and EU Marie Curie fellowships).
We are especially keen to recruit people with a background in systems neuroscience, but all strong applications will be considered seriously. Quantitative and programming skills are a bonus. You should typically apply at least 6 months in advance of when you would like to start.
Phd studentS
Prospective students who would like to carry out a PhD in the lab should contact Jonny and include a CV. We welcome applications from motivated students of a broad range of backgrounds (Biological Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science etc.). Graduate students will join the lab via the four-year Crick PhD Programme (applications open in early October). WE ARE CURRENTLY RECRUITING A PHD STUDENT FOR 2024 - APPLY HERE (DEADLINE: NOV 9)
MSC STUDENTS
MSc projects for students from the Crick’s partner universities (UCL / Imperial / King’s) are available from time to time. Please contact Jonny.
SUMMER STUDENTS
Undergraduate students interested in an internship are encouraged to apply to the Crick-Calleva Summer Student Programme (deadline late January).
CONTACT
The Francis Crick Institute
1 Midland Road
London NW1 1AT, UK
jonny.kohl@crick.ac.uk
