Professor Gaspar Jekely
Professor of Neuroscience
G.Jekely@exeter.ac.uk
7453
+44(0)1392 727453
Living Systems Institute T02.11
Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD
Overview
My research interests include the structure, function and evolution of neural circuits, the mechanisms of neuromodulation and the evolution of neuronal cell types and nervous systems. My group studies the ciliated larvae of the marine annelid Platynereis and other marine organisms.
Qualifications
1999 Ph.D. in Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
1995 Diploma in Biology and Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Career
2017- Professor of Neuroscience, Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter
2017- Associate Director, Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter
2007-2017 Max Planck Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen
2004-2007 FEBS Postdoctoral fellow, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany, Detlev Arendt’s laboratory
2003 Junior fellow at the Collegium Budapest, Institute for Advanced Study, Budapest, Hungary
2000-2003 EMBO Postdoctoral fellow, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany, Pernille Rørth’s laboratory
Links
- LSI Profile
- ORCID
- Google Scholar profile – a reliable list of publications (do not look at the Publications tab, the university's database is dysfunctional)
- @JekelyLab Twitter profile
- EvoCell Marie Curie ITN
- Book on "The Story of Genetics, Development and Evolution"
Research
Research interests
We are interested in the neural circuit bases of behaviour and how neuromodulators confer flexibility to circuit activity and behaviours. Our aim is to study this at the single neuron level and for entiry neural circuits. This requres the mapping of circuits at synaptic resolution and the mapping of neuromodulators and their receptors to single neurons. Achieving this at cellular resolution in an entire nervous system is only possible by studying small animals that are also amenable to experimental manipulations. We study larval stages of the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii to understand contextual neuromodulation in fully mapped, stereotypical circuits, and its changes during development. Since several modulators and their receptors found in Platynereis are conserved across bilaterians, including humans, the principles and mechanisms we uncover in the simple and tractable annelid nervous system may inform us about similar processes in more complex brains. We use whole-body connectomics and overlay neuromodulatory networks with single-cell resolution onto synaptic connectomes. We complement this with circuit-wide activity imaging, behavioural analysis, and neurogenetics to study how the sensory environment and the modulatory landscape influences circuit activity. Genome editing and transgenic access to single neurons in Platynereis allow us to link the network output to molecular function at the synapse. We hope to uncover how neuronal circuits coordinate body-wide circuit activity and behaviour and how neuromodulatory signals contribute to flexibility.
Research grants
- 2020 Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP)
Deconstructing neurobiology of settlement decision-making in coral larvae - 2019 BBSRC
HPF to enable high-quality ultrastructural analysis of biological samples - 2018 Leverhulme Trust
Research Project Grant “Reconstruction of the pre-bilaterian ancestry of neuropeptide signalling” - 2018 Wellcome Trust
Investigator Award "Modulation of circuit dynamics by noradrenergic signalling in the annelid model Platynereis" - 2017 European Commission
European Commission Horizon 2020, Initial Training Network (ITN) “EvoCell”, “Animal evolution from a cell type perspective: multidisciplinary training in single-cell genomics, evo-devo and in science outreach”. https://www.evocell-itn.eu - 2016 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
DFG Grant JE 777/3-1 “Genetik und neuronale Netzwerke in Platynereis dumerilii, welche die Grundlage der Vermeidung von Fressfeinden durch mechanische Reize bilden” - 2015 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
DFG Grant JE 777/3-1 “Regulatorische Mechanismen von Neuropeptiden auf das Ansiedlungsverhalten der Larve des marinen Wurms Platynereis dumerilii” - 2012 European Commission
European Commission FP7 Framework Programme, Initial Training Network (ITN) “Neptune”, “Multidisciplinary training in evo-devo and neurobiology of marine animal models”. - 2010 European Research Council
ERC Starting Grant - 2008 Max Planck Society
Max Planck Inter-institutional project. “Deep sequencing of the transcriptome of two marine annelid species for neurobiological, structural, and comparative genomic studies” (Co-PIs Fulvia Bono and Elena Conti). - 2007 Max Planck Society
Max Planck Research Group core funding
Publications
Books
Journal articles
Chapters
Conferences
External Engagement and Impact
Awards and Honours
2012 John Kendrew Award, EMBL
2004-2006 FEBS Long Term Postdoctoral Fellowship
2003-2004 Junior Fellowship of the Collegium Budapest
2000-2002 EMBO Long Term Fellowship
2002 EMBO science writing prize 2002
2000 Young Researchers’ Prize of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
1995-2000 PhD Fellowship, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
1999 Qualitas Biologica Hungarica – BRC of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Editorial responsibilities
since 2009 Member of Editorial Board, EvoDevo
2008 Book editor for Springer “Eukaryotic Membranes and Cytoskeleton: Origins and Evolution”
2004-2005 Guest Editor of FEBS Letters Budapest Special Issue 2005
since 2004 Member of Editorial Board, Biology Direct
since 2008 Reviewed for several funding agencies and Universities: European Research Council; National Science Foundation; Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research; Agence Nationale de la Recherche; College for Life Sciences, Berlin; Hungarian Scientific Research Fund; Research Foundation - Flanders; Vienna Science and Technology Fund; Dickinson College; The Leverhulme Trust; BBSRC; Wellcome Trust
since 2004 Peer reviewer for 48 journals, including eLife, PNAS, Cell, Development, Current Biology; full reviewer history at https://publons.com/author/312296
Conferences and invited presentations
2020 Oct “Motile Active Matter” Forschungszentrum Caesar, Bonn, keynote lecture
2020 Sept Bernstein Conference, Berlin, “Modelling in studying the evolution of nervous systems” symposium
2020 Sept Visegrad Group Society for Developmental Biology Meeting, keynote lecture (postponed)
2020 April “Neuropeptide Signaling: Bridging Cell Biology, Neurophysiology, and Behavior”, Janelia Research Campus (postponed)
2020 Mar “Neuro-Evo: A Comparative Approach to Cracking Circuit Function III”, Janelia Research Campus (postponed)
2020 Mar Wellcome Trust meeting “Neuroscience and Mental Health”, De Vere Latimer Estate (postponed)
2019 Nov 9th International Conference 'Aspects of Neuroscience', University of Warsaw, keynote lecture
2019 Nov Joint France-UK conference on Cilia, Flagella and Centrosomes, Institut Imagine Paris, keynote lecture
2019 Nov “Evolution of Morphogenesis” think tank, Janelia Research Campus
2019 Oct “The Origin of Eukaryotes” The Agouron Institute, Pasadena
2019 May Gordon Research Conference “Modulation of neuronal circuits and behavior”, Les Diablerets, Switzerland
2019 Jan Heraeus-Seminar, “Physik und Physiologie motiler Zilien und Geißeln”, Bad Honnef, Germany
2018 July Workshop on “Biophysical Constraints and Evolutionary Cell Biology”, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Lisbon
2018 June Ground-floor of Cognition Workshop, KLI, Vienna
2018 Feb Neurobiology Symposium, University of Vienna
2017 May EMBO | EMBL Symposium on Neural Circuits
2017 March Göttingen Meeting of the German Neuroscience Society (NWG) 2017
2017 March Joint Meeting of the German and Japanese Societies of Developmental Biologists, Kiel
2016 Oct German Society for Developmental Biology School, Castle Reisensburg
2016 Sept Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society (DZG), Kiel
2016 Sept “Principles of biological and robotic navigation”, Dresden, MPI for Physics of Complex Systems
2016 Aug European Society for Comparative Endocrinology 2016 Conference, Leuven
2016 May 7th Max Planck LeadNet Meeting, Neuroscience workshop, Berlin
2016 May “Brain Evolution Symposium”, Université de Lausanne, DNF
2015 Sept Euretina Congress, Novartis Evolution in Ophthalmology (NEO) Event, Nice
2015 Sept “Animal evolution: new perspectives from early emerging metazoans”, Tutzing, Germany
2015 Sept “Early metazoan nervous systems: development, structure, divergence, and nonconventional roles”, Aidling, Germany
2015 Aug “Systems biology of the brain: insights from simple brains”, University of Fribourg
2015 July “Frontiers of Brain Science”, Sendai, Japan
2015 June Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg, COS Symposium “Evolution & Ecology”
2015 March Royal Society Meeting – "On the origin and evolution of the nervous system" London
2015 Feb University of Mainz, Neurobiology Symposium
2015 Feb Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Lisbon, IGC Selection Colloquium
2014 Aug Berlin 2014 International Congress of Invertebrate Morphology
2014 July 5th meeting of the European Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology (EED), Vienna
2014 July “Science Day”, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna
2014 May Molecular Frontiers in Evolution and Ecology Symposium, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen
2014 Feb Minisymposium – “From genome to structure and function” Biocenter, University Köln
2014 Feb New Year’s Meeting of the Research School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen, keynote speaker
2013 Dec Heraeus-Seminar – "Physics and Biology of directed movements of cells and organisms", Bad Honnef
2013 Oct Evolution of Vision. Les Treilles
2013 July EMBO practical course – “Marine Animal Models in Evolution and Development” Kristineberg Marine Station,
2013 Jan Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) Meeting
2012 Aug International Congress of Neuroethology, University of Maryland
2012 May “New Perspectives in Integrative Neuroscience” Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen
2012 Mar Annual Meeting of the German Society of Cell Biology, Dresden
2011 Mar 103rd International Titisee Conference - Genetic analysis of neural circuits
2010 Sep EMBO/EMBL Symposium, Structure and Function of Neuronal Circuits
2010 Apr Meeting of Tübingen Neuroscientists, Reutlingen
2009 Nov Meeting of the Max Planck Society, Biology & Medicine Section
2009 Oct Ischia, EMBO Workshop Evo-Devo meets Marine Ecology
2009 July EMBO practical course – “Molecular Approaches to Evolution and Development” Kristineberg Marine Station
2009 Feb Collegium Budapest, Darwin Day
2008 Nov ZooNet meeting on Perspectives on the Evolution of Animal Form, Budapest
2008 Nov University of London, Gatsby Unit, Simple Cognitive Systems Workshop
2008 Aug Gordon conference on Visual System Development, Salve Regina University, Newport
2008 Sept Meeting of the Hungarian Biochemical Society, Szeged, Hungary
2007 Febr CellNetworks Symposium, BZH Heidelberg
2005 April Symposium on Cell and Developmental Biology, Eger, Hungary
2004 July Workshop on the origin and evolution of the eukaryotic nucleus, Les Treilles
2004 July Meeting of the International Society of Invertebrate Reproduction, Life Science Centre, Newcastle
Invited lectures
2021 May University of Wolverhampton, host: Evi Goggolidou
2020 Dec Nencki Institut, Warsaw and University of Buenos Aires, Transatlantic Systems Neuroscience Seminar, host: PhD students (online)
2020 Mar MRC LMB Cambridge, host: William Schafer
2019 Nov University of Hull, host: Jörg Hardage
2019 Nov University of Braunschweig, host: Ralf Schnabel
2019 Oct Academia Sinica, Taiwan, host: Stephan Schneider
2019 March University of York, host: Daniel Ungar
2019 March University of Bristol, host: Michael Bok
2018 Nov University of Oxford, The Department of Zoology, host: Sebastian Shimeld
2018 June King’s College London, host: Darren Williams
2018 April University of Warwick, host: Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics Group
2018 March Brain Awareness Week, University of Exeter
2018 Jan University of Cambridge, host: Michael Akam
2017 Nov Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, host: Guillaume Balavoine
2017 Oct Queen Mary University of London, host: Paul Hurd
2017 Oct University of Oxford, CNCB, host: Gero Miesenböck
2017 Oct Universidad Pablo de Olavide-CSIC, Seville, host: Damien Devos
2017 June Biological Research Centre, Szeged, host: Laszlo Vigh
2017 Jan University of Bayreuth, Evolutionary Ecology Symposium
2016 Sept University of Fribourg
2016 June University of Vienna, host: Ulrich Technau
2016 Apr University of Durham
2016 Feb Université de Lausanne, DNF
2015 Dec University of Copenhagen, host: Katrine Worsaae
2015 Dec University of Lund, host: Dan-Eric Nilsson
2015 Nov IST Austria, host: Ryuichi Shigemoto
2015 Nov University of Tübingen, Evolution and Ecology Seminar Series, host: Oliver Betz
2015 Aug Asamushi Marine Station, Japan, host: Gaku Kumano
2015 May Stazione Zoologica Napoli, host: Marina Montresor
2015 Jan Neuroscience Paris Saclay Institute, Gif sur Yvette, host: Sylvie Retaux
2015 Jan Marine Ecology Department Seminar at GEOMAR in Kiel, host: Frank Melzner
2014 Oct Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL)
2014 June University College London, host: Max Telford
2014 March Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Lisbon, host: Jonathan Howard
2014 Jan Institute of Physiology, RWTH Aachen University, host: Stefan Gründer
2013 Nov Cambridge University, Evolution and Development Seminar, host: PhD students
2013 Oct Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, host: Ulf Jondelius
2013 Apr Caesar, Bonn, Neuroscience Series, host: Benjamin Kaupp
2012 Nov University of Helsinki, Viikki Biocenter
2012 Apr FU Berlin, Research Kolloquium Series, host: Constance Scharff
2012 Feb Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, host: Chris Lowe
2011 Sep CNRS, Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche-sur-Mer, host: Evelyn Houliston
2011 July Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Lisbon, host: Luis Teixeira
2010 Oct Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, host: Gilles Laurent
2010 Apr Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, host: Björn Hof
2009 Dec Kewalo Marine Lab, University of Hawaii, host: Mark Q. Martindale
2008 Oct University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Evo-devo seminar series
2008 June Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen
2006 Dec Institut Curie, Paris hosts: Michel Bornens and Bruno Goud
2006 Oct Sars Centre, Bergen host: Daniel Chourrout
Workshops/Conferences organised
2021 June Swedish KVA Fund practical course – “Marine Animal Models in Evolution and Development” Kristineberg Marine Station, Co-organiser with Detlev Arendt and Maria Ina Arnone
2021 May High-pressure freezing and volume EM course, University of Exeter
2019 March “Unity and diversity of ciliary systems in locomotion and transport”, Royal Society Theo Murphy Meeting, Co-organiser with Kirsty Wan and Raymond Goldstein
2018 May “Neuro-evo: A Comparative Approach to Cracking Circuit Function” Janelia Farm Conference, Co-organiser with Albert Cardona and Melina Hale
2017 July EMBO practical course – “Marine Animal Models in Evolution and Development” Kristineberg Marine Station, Co-organiser with Detlev Arendt and Maria Ina Arnone
2017 March “Evolution and functional biology of neuropeptide signalling: from genomes to behaviour”, Royal Society Symposium, Co-organiser with Maurice Elphick and Lindy Holden-Dye
2016 May “Neuro-evo: A Comparative Approach to Cracking Circuit Function” Janelia Farm Conference, Co-organiser with Albert Cardona and Melina Hale
2015 July EMBO practical course – “Marine Animal Models in Evolution and Development” Kristineberg Marine Station, Co-organiser with Detlev Arendt
2014 Oct “Early evolution of nervous systems – philosophical and biological perspectives”, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany, co-organiser with Peter Godfrey Smith and Fred Keijzer
2012 Mar Annual Meeting of the German Society of Cell Biology, Dresden, Organizer of “Cell Evolution Symposium”
2011 Nov “Trends and Controversies in Evolutionary Developmental Biology” Ringberg Castle, Germany, co-organiser with Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Ralf Sommer
Teaching
-
2020- BIO2088 Advanced Cell Biology, bachelor module, University of Exeter
-
2017- BIO3091 Animal Developmental Biology, bachelor module, University of Exeter
-
2013-2017 Yearly graduate schools and student courses Marie Curie Initial Training Network Neptune
-
2014-2016 3-week practical course “Cell nucleus” to the MSc students in the curriculum “Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology”, University of Tübingen
-
2014 Course instructor and lecturer at the summer school “An integrated approach to marine invertebrate biodiversity: evolutionary and functional adaptations” in Chioggia, Italy
-
2011-20165 One-day lecture and practical course on the reconstruction of neural circuits by EM at the MPI for Developmental Biology
-
2011-2012 Two-day ImageJ Macro Programming Course at the MPI for Developmental Biology
-
2009-2020 One-day lecture and journal club module at the EMBL PhD Course, Evolution Module “Origin of life and origin of eukaryotes”
-
2008-2011 Lectures in the Current topics in evolutionary and developmental biology lecture series at the MPI for Developmental Biology “Origin and evolution of the nervous system”
-
20013-2014 University of Tübingen, Marine biology course, special seminars
-
2008-2017 Course organiser, instructor and lecturer at the “Molecular Approaches to Evolution and Development” EMBO Practical Courses (biyearly course), Kristineberg, Sweden
-
2008-2012 Teacher and co-organiser of a one week Advanced Light Microscopy Course at the MPI for Developmental Biology
-
2008-2016 Lectures and practicals at the PhD course at the MPI for Developmental Biology
-
2007 Two lectures at the University of Stockholm, Graduate School of Astrobiology, PhD course on origin & evolution of life
-
2005-2008 Evolutionary neurobiology lectures at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
Supervision / Group
Research Fellows
- Milena Marinkovic
Postdoctoral researchers
- Luis Bezares-Calderon
- Emelie Brodrick
- Cameron Hird
- Sanja Jasek
- Kei Jokura
- Reza Shahidi
- Daniel Thiel
- Luis Yanez Guerra
Alumni
- James Beard
- Konrad Heinz
- Cameron Hird
- Elizabeth Williams