Dr Carolina Rezaval BSc, MSc, PhD

• 2009 PhD in Biology. University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 2004 BSc, MSc in Biology. University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Carolina Rezaval was born in Patagonia, Argentina. She received a Master's and PhD in Biology from the University of Buenos Aires. Her PhD research, supervised by Dr Fernanda Ceriani,  focused on identifying genes involved in neurodegeneration that lead to abnormal circadian behaviour in Drosophila.

She subsequently conducted her post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford, where she studied the genetic and neural basis of innate sexual behaviours in Drosophila. As a BBSRC researcher co-investigator in Professor Stephen Goodwin’s lab at the University of Oxford, she focused on understanding how the brain differs between the sexes and how these differences explain distinct behaviours exhibited by male and female flies. She discovered a specific subset of neurons which, when activated, induces female fruit flies to exhibit male-like behaviours, demonstrating that the neural circuitry for male courtship behaviours indeed exists in the female fly brain but remains dormant.

In April 2018, Carolina was awarded a Birmingham Fellowship to start her laboratory at the University of Birmingham. Her lab focuses on understanding how the brain makes decisions when faced with conflicting options, using Drosophila as a model organism. In 2021, Carolina was promoted to Associate Professor and later became the module leader for Third-Year Cellular Neurobiology at the School of Biosciences. For more information, visit her lab website: https://www.rezavallab.org/.

BIO379: Cellular Neurobiology (Module leader)

23318/23319: Cell Biology and Physiology/Essentials of Cell Biology and Physiology (lecturer)

34136: Personal and Academic Development (tutor)

PhD projects are offered in the general area of Behavioural Neurobiology using the fruit-fly Drosophila as a model organism. We study how the brain responds when there are conflicting options available, and how it chooses amongst them. By studying how the brain makes decisions at a genetic, cellular and circuit level, in an accessible experimental system, we aim to reveal fundamental principles underlying behavioural choices that might be present across species. 

Technical approaches include genetics, molecular biology, optogenetics/thermogenetics, behavioural assays, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy and functional imaging (in collaboration with other research groups). 

Masters projects are offered in the field of Behavioural Neurobiology as above. 

Interested in joining the lab for MSc, MSci, and MRes projects or PhD training? Please, contact Dr Carolina Rezaval by email c.rezaval@bham.ac.uk

We are keen to host domestic and international students who have secured their own funding.

The University of Birmingham offers a number of competitive BBSRC funded PhD positions each year as part of the MIBTP doctoral training scheme, in association with the Universities of Warwick and Leicester. Application deadlines are every January.  If you are interested in this scheme, please get in touch by email to discuss potential projects and applications.

Birmingham Fly Facility

Animals engage in daily activities that are essential for survival and reproduction, such as feeding, mating or fighting for resources.

How does an animal prioritise one behaviour over others? We know that cues conveying external information (e.g., threats from other animals, access to food) and internal state (e.g., fear, hunger) guide behavioural choices. However, how the brain selects specific actions remains unknown.
 
Our lab addresses this fascinating question using the fruit fly model, Drosophila. Fruit flies exhibit complex behaviours that are controlled by a relatively small brain. Thanks to sophisticated tools available in the fruit fly, we can interrupt specific genes, as well as visualise and manipulate individual neurons with great resolution. With these tools, we can study how the fly brain responds when there are conflicting options available, and how it chooses amongst them​.

By studying how the brain makes decisions at a genetic, cellular and circuit level in an accessible experimental system, we aim to reveal fundamental principles underlying behavioural choices that might be present across species.

Please, visit our lab group website

Science outreach

• Science Evening, SS Philip and James’ Church of England 2017
• National History Museum in Oxford (Super Science Saturday) 2017
• Generating genius / 2016
• ‘Open Leloir weekend’