Philipp Brand
@pbrand.bsky.social
PI of Evolutionary Neuroscience and Behavior Group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.
Evolution of behavior, neural circuits, chemical senses, and speciation.
he/him
https://brain.mpg.de/home
Evolution of behavior, neural circuits, chemical senses, and speciation.
he/him
https://brain.mpg.de/home
Pinned
Philipp Brand
@pbrand.bsky.social
· Oct 16
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
Reposted by Philipp Brand
My main postdoc work is now out :) In the group of @tomtom-auer.bsky.social with Justine Pascual, @bruzz-1.bsky.social , Noemi Sgammeglia , with crucial collaboration with @dahaniel.muench.bio and @ribeirocarlitos.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 27, 2025 at 9:49 AM
My main postdoc work is now out :) In the group of @tomtom-auer.bsky.social with Justine Pascual, @bruzz-1.bsky.social , Noemi Sgammeglia , with crucial collaboration with @dahaniel.muench.bio and @ribeirocarlitos.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Our preprint is out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
FERAL: A Video-Understanding System for Direct Video-to-Behavior Mapping
Animal behavior unfolds continuously in time, yet quantitative analyses often require segmenting it into discrete, interpretable states. Although manual annotation can achieve this, it remains slow, s...
www.biorxiv.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Our preprint is out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
@rorycoleman.bsky.social and I wrote an opinion piece called
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution
The vast diversity of animal behaviors has long inspired ethologists and neuroscientists, but circuit mechanisms driving this variation remain elusive…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:57 AM
@rorycoleman.bsky.social and I wrote an opinion piece called
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Apply now to become a speaker at our Institute! We invite excellent postdocs in neuroscience, ecology and other fields related to our research to apply for our Emerging Scientist Talk Series. Apply by October 24: www.bi.mpg.de/ess
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
September 19, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Apply now to become a speaker at our Institute! We invite excellent postdocs in neuroscience, ecology and other fields related to our research to apply for our Emerging Scientist Talk Series. Apply by October 24: www.bi.mpg.de/ess
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
October 24, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
Reposted by Philipp Brand
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Reposted by Philipp Brand
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
Reposted by Philipp Brand
People thought I was bonkers studying courtship and mating in Drosophila erecta nearly 50 years ago. Sometimes you just have to wait.
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 12:41 PM
People thought I was bonkers studying courtship and mating in Drosophila erecta nearly 50 years ago. Sometimes you just have to wait.
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
October 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
Reposted by Philipp Brand
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT📣: I haven’t been this excited to be part of something new in 15 years… Thrilled to reveal the passion project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half!🙀🥳 (thread 👇)
October 15, 2025 at 12:22 PM
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT📣: I haven’t been this excited to be part of something new in 15 years… Thrilled to reveal the passion project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half!🙀🥳 (thread 👇)
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
October 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
Reposted by Philipp Brand
We're very proud to be releasing the complete male fly CNS connectome!
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
Male CNS Connectome
A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system —a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the ...
www.janelia.org
October 5, 2025 at 6:02 PM
We're very proud to be releasing the complete male fly CNS connectome!
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
It's the product of a huge team effort here at Janelia in partnership with the Cambridge Fly Connectomics group (@jefferis.bsky.social and colleagues), plus invaluable collaborators.
More soon...
www.janelia.org/project-team...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:
September 6, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:
Reposted by Philipp Brand
If you’re interested in ants, olfaction, gene regulation, or all of the above, here’s a new preprint from the lab for you. It describes an unorthodox mechanism of transcriptional interference by which ant olfactory sensory neurons produce a single functional receptor.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Transcriptional Interference Gates Monogenic Odorant Receptor Expression in Ants
Communication is crucial to social life, and in ants, it is mediated primarily through olfaction. Ants have more odorant receptor (OR) genes than any other group of insects, generated through tandem d...
www.biorxiv.org
August 21, 2025 at 9:31 PM
If you’re interested in ants, olfaction, gene regulation, or all of the above, here’s a new preprint from the lab for you. It describes an unorthodox mechanism of transcriptional interference by which ant olfactory sensory neurons produce a single functional receptor.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Neuronal diversity is written in transcriptional codes 🧬. But what is the logic of these codes that define cell types and wiring patterns?
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
August 21, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Neuronal diversity is written in transcriptional codes 🧬. But what is the logic of these codes that define cell types and wiring patterns?
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
Exciting new Ruta lab preprint by @annaryba.bsky.social et al. on the neural underpinnings of intraspecific behavioral variation: Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution in Drosophila
Sexual selection acts on heritable differences within species, driving the parallel diversification of signal production in one sex and behavioral responses in the other. This coevolution implies that...
www.biorxiv.org
August 21, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Exciting new Ruta lab preprint by @annaryba.bsky.social et al. on the neural underpinnings of intraspecific behavioral variation: Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution Drosophila
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
New preprint!
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Computational Urban Ecology of New York City Rats
Urban rats are highly adaptable, thriving in the dynamic and often inhospitable conditions of modern cities. Despite substantial mitigation efforts, they remain an enduring presence in urban environme...
www.biorxiv.org
July 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
New preprint!
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵
w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com!
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
July 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com!
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
Reposted by Philipp Brand
How do brain circuits evolve? We started looking for some answers by using synapse-resolution cross-species comparative connectomics on an entire olfactory circuit 👇
bit.ly/44aVm9E
bit.ly/44aVm9E
June 12, 2025 at 11:04 AM
How do brain circuits evolve? We started looking for some answers by using synapse-resolution cross-species comparative connectomics on an entire olfactory circuit 👇
bit.ly/44aVm9E
bit.ly/44aVm9E
Reposted by Philipp Brand
🏅 Congrats to 2025 GSA Medal recipient @nkwhiteman.bsky.social (@ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social)! His research reveals how plants and herbivores co-evolve through chemical warfare. Read more about his career & research: buff.ly/mxnPQon
May 5, 2025 at 4:04 PM
🏅 Congrats to 2025 GSA Medal recipient @nkwhiteman.bsky.social (@ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social)! His research reveals how plants and herbivores co-evolve through chemical warfare. Read more about his career & research: buff.ly/mxnPQon
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Really happy to share our new preprint on the central complex of Heliconiini butterflies www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Check it out!
@neuroethology.org @brainevolutionnews.bsky.social @prelights.bsky.social @tibbe-evolneuro.bsky.social #brainevolution #heliconius #centralcomplex
@neuroethology.org @brainevolutionnews.bsky.social @prelights.bsky.social @tibbe-evolneuro.bsky.social #brainevolution #heliconius #centralcomplex
Distinct evolutionary trajectories of two integration centres, the central complex and mushroom bodies, across Heliconiini butterflies
Neural circuits have evolved to produce cognitive processes that facilitate a species variable behavioural repertoire. Underlying this variation are evolutionary forces, such as selection, that operat...
www.biorxiv.org
May 7, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Really happy to share our new preprint on the central complex of Heliconiini butterflies www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Check it out!
@neuroethology.org @brainevolutionnews.bsky.social @prelights.bsky.social @tibbe-evolneuro.bsky.social #brainevolution #heliconius #centralcomplex
@neuroethology.org @brainevolutionnews.bsky.social @prelights.bsky.social @tibbe-evolneuro.bsky.social #brainevolution #heliconius #centralcomplex
Reposted by Philipp Brand
I'm honoured to have been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It's a wonderful recognition of all the hard work by the amazing folks in the lab over the years. A huge thanks to them all.
April 24, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I'm honoured to have been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It's a wonderful recognition of all the hard work by the amazing folks in the lab over the years. A huge thanks to them all.
Reposted by Philipp Brand
🚀 I’m thrilled to announce I’ve started a tenure track position as Professor for Animal Neurophysiology at @jlugiessen.bsky.social As of April 1, the Münch Lab is open! 🔬🧠🪰 We’ll study chemosensory processing, multisensory integration & feeding in flies. 🎓 PhD position coming soon, stay tuned!
a large group of people are sitting in a lecture hall with a sign that says cbs on it
ALT: a large group of people are sitting in a lecture hall with a sign that says cbs on it
media.tenor.com
April 10, 2025 at 1:32 PM
🚀 I’m thrilled to announce I’ve started a tenure track position as Professor for Animal Neurophysiology at @jlugiessen.bsky.social As of April 1, the Münch Lab is open! 🔬🧠🪰 We’ll study chemosensory processing, multisensory integration & feeding in flies. 🎓 PhD position coming soon, stay tuned!