Systems Neuroscience: Vision-Guided Navigation in Drosophila

About the Project

Project: Decoding Vision-Guided Navigation in Drosophila (in Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

How does a brain smaller than a grain of salt execute complex navigation? This project aims to reverse-engineer the Drosophila visuomotor system to uncover the neural algorithms that transform high-dimensional sensory streams into precise locomotion. Leveraging the recently completed full-brain connectome, we map synaptic-level pathways from the visual system to motor centers, either directly via reflexive circuits or indirectly through navigation-related centers. By decoding these circuits alongside their “wiring diagram,” we aim to build executable in silico models that simulate how biological networks process landmarks, maintain spatial memory, and prioritize specific visual targets based on internal states such as hunger or arousal.

Our research focuses on the following questions:

• Vision: How does the fly extract diverse visual features through its complex recurrent visual circuits?
• Action: How does the fly brain coordinate between instinctive visuomotor reflexes and higher-order, goal-directed navigation commands?
• Connectome-Constrained AI: Can we build a high-performance artificial neural network model by "fine-tuning" the architectural constraints of the biological wiring diagram?

Requirements/Qualifications

• Understanding of basic neuroscience and computational modeling (numerical analysis)
• Experience with a programming language for data analysis (Python or MATLAB)
• Basic knowledge of machine vision or signal processing
• Understanding of genetics

Life in the lab

• The Neural Intelligence Systems Lab promotes diversity in both research backgrounds and the nationalities of its members. We currently have three international students and seven Korean students, representing a wide range of undergraduate majors, including cognitive science, biology, biochemistry, electronic engineering, and biomedical engineering.
• In August 2026, will be relocated to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, approximately one hour south of Seoul, South Korea.

Applications

Applications, including a statement of purpose, CV, and academic transcript, should be sent directly to anmokim@hanyang.ac.kr.

Lab website: https://anmokimlab.com

Department website: https://bcs.kaist.ac.kr