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Prof. Dr. Andreas Stephan Thum

Prof. Dr. Andreas Stephan Thum

Professor

Genetik
Institutsgebäude
Talstraße 33, Room 317
04103 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97 - 36961
Fax: +49 341 97 - 36789

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Abstract

My lab investigates learning and memory in Drosophila larvae given that the larva brain is small enough to study its function at the level of microcircuits and single cells. At the same time the larva is complex enough to compare its brain with those of other insects or even humans. To analyze the behavioral, anatomical and molecular changes that allow larvae to remember past experiences, we apply a large number of different techniques: behavioral tests, opto- and thermogenetic approaches to manipulate the activity of small sets of neurons and individual nerve cells, as well as different molecular and neurogenetic methods to selectively target single cells in the living animal. We combine this work with confocal light microscopy to investigate the morphology of single neurons in the entire larval brain. More recently, the focus of the lab shifted to connectomics by using 3D EM techniques to reconstruct the entire wiring diagram of the larval brain.

Professional career

  • since 08/2017
    Professor of Genetics, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Germany
  • 05/2011 - 07/2017
    Emmy Noether Group Leader, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany
  • 01/2010 - 04/2011
    Senior Assistant, Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • 05/2005 - 12/2009
    Postdoc, Research Group of Prof. Reini Stocker, Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Education

  • 05/2000 - 04/2005
    PhD, Research Group of Prof. Martin Heisenberg, Chair of Neurobiology and Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Würzburg, Germany
  • 05/1997 - 04/2000
    Diploma, Research Group of Prof. Martin Heisenberg, Chair of Neurobiology and Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Würzburg, Germany

  • Larvalbrain2.0: A research platform for the larval brain of Drosophila melanogaster
    Thum, Andreas Stephan
    Duration: 01/2020 – ongoing
    Funded by: DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
    Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Genetik
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  • The basis of fructose sensation: Instructions provided by the peripheral nervous system to select appropriate behavioral actions
    Thum, Andreas Stephan
    Duration: 10/2019 – ongoing
    Funded by: DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
    Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Genetik
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  • Octopamine function revisited: Reward processing in Drosophila larvae
    Thum, Andreas Stephan
    Duration: 01/2019 – ongoing
    Funded by: DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
    Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Genetik
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  • The genetic basis of learning and memory
    Thum, Andreas Stephan
    Duration: 08/2017 – ongoing
    Funded by: Haushaltsmittel (TG51, Overhead)
    Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Genetik
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  • Methods of long-term optogenetic manipulation for the Analysis of dopamine-dependent addictive behavior in a Drosophila animal model
    Thum, Andreas Stephan
    Duration: 03/2023 – 02/2025
    Funded by: EU Europäischer Sozialfonds (ESF)
    Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Genetik
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more projects

  • Hernandez-Nunez, L.; Chen, A.; Budelli, G.; Berck, M. E.; Richter, V.; Rist, A.; Thum, A. S.; Cardona, A.; Klein, M.; Garrity, P.; Samuel, A. D. T.
    Synchronous and opponent thermosensors use flexible cross-inhibition to orchestrate thermal homeostasis
    Sci Adv.. 2021. 7 (35).
    DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg6707
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  • Schumann, I.; Berger, M.; Nowag, N.; Schäfer, Y.; Kinnigkeit, J.; Scholz, H.; Thum, A. S.
    Ethanol-guided behavior in Drosophila larvae
    Sci Rep . 2021. 11 (1). p. 12307.
    DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91677-3
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  • Eschbach, C.; Fushiki, A.; Winding, M. et al.
    Recurrent architecture for adaptive regulation of learning in the insect brain
    Nat Neurosci. 2020. pp. 544–555.
    DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0607-9
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  • Brünner, B.; Kinnigkeit, J.; Samur, M.; Weber, D.; Schumann, I.; Mahishi Vasuki, D.; Rohwedder, A.; Thum, A. S.
    Food restriction reconfigures naïve and learned choice behavior in Drosophila larvae
    Journal of Neurogenetics . 2020. pp. 1–10.
    DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2020.1714612
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  • Meloni, I.; Sachidanandan, D.; Thum, A. S.; Kittel, R. J.; Murawski, C.
    Controlling the behaviour of Drosophila melanogaster via smartphone optogenetics
    Scientific Reports. 2020.
    DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74448-4
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more publications

  • Genetik
    Das larvale 4D Standardgehirn von Drosophila melanogaster analysiert auf Einzelzell-Ebene
    Start Date of Collaboration: 01/05/2014
    External participating organisations: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (Germany); Zentrum für Virtual Reality und Visualisierung (Wien, Austria)
    Involved persons: Thum, Andreas Stephan
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  • Genetik
    Das Konnektom des larvalen Gedächtniszentrums
    Start Date of Collaboration: 01/01/2014
    External participating organisations: Leibniz-Institut für Neurobiologie (Magdeburg, Germany); HHMI Janelia Research Campus (Ashburn, United States)
    Involved persons: Thum, Andreas Stephan
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more cooperations

  • International Meeting
    Arthropod Neuroscience Network Meeting 2018
    Genetik
    Event Organiser: Thum, Andreas Stephan
    27/03/2018 – 29/03/2018
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more events

Research fields

Neurobiology

Contact for media inquiries

Phone: +49 341 97-36961