The bendesky lab
Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, E3B, Columbia University
What we do
The diversity of animal behavior is fascinating, yet we know little about how behavior evolves.
We take genetic, genomic, molecular, and neurobiological approaches to understand the mechanisms underlying the natural variation and evolution of behavior.
Our work focuses mostly on exploratory and social behaviors – like pair bonding and parental care – in Peromyscus mice, and on aggression in Siamese Fighting Fish.
People
Andrés Bendesky
Principal Investigator
Andrés got his MD at UNAM, Mexico, his PhD at Rockefeller University working in the lab of Cori Bargmann, and was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard with Hopi Hoekstra and Catherine Dulac
Kerel Francis
Lab Manager
Kerel got his BS at Mercy College and a masters in neuroscience at the University of Bremen
Yow-Tyng (Tim) Yeh
PhD (rotation) Student
Tim got a BS and an MS at Lehigh University. He's now in the Biology graduate program and rotating in the lab
Madison Lichak
Research Assistant
Madison got her at Barnard College, did her thesis work in the Bendesky lab and liked it so much that she decided to stay on ;-)
Selected Publications
The genetic basis of parental care evolution in monogamous mice
Bendesky A, Young-Mi Kwon, Jean-Marc Lassance, Caitlin L Lewarch, Shenqin Yao, Brant K Peterson, Meng Xiao He, Catherine Dulac, Hopi E Hoekstra
Nature. 2017 Apr 27;544(7651):434-9.
Scientific and media coverage
News and Views: Phelps SM. Animal behaviour: How to build a better dad. Nature. 2017;544:418–419.
Snyder-Mackler M, Tung J. Vasopressin and the Neurogenetics of Parental Care. Neuron. 2017;95:9-11
Hager R. The Genes That Make a Good Parent. Trends in Genetics. 2017. In press
Media Coverage: Carl Zimmer. Why Are Some Mice (and People) Monogamous? A Study Points to Genes. New York Times. April 19, 2017.
Andrea Marks. The Mouse Parent Trap. Scientific American. July 2017.
Long-range regulatory polymorphisms affecting a GABA receptor constitute a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for social behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Bendesky A, Pitts J, Rockman MV, Chen WC, Tan MW, Kruglyak L, Bargmann CI.
PLoS Genet. 2012;8(12):e1003157.
Genetic contributions to behavioural diversity at the gene-environment interface.
Bendesky A, Bargmann CI.
Nat Rev Genet. 2011 Nov 8;12(12):809-20.
Catecholamine receptor polymorphisms affect decision-making in C. elegans.
Bendesky A, Tsunozaki M, Rockman MV, Kruglyak L, Bargmann CI.
Nature. 2011 Apr 21;472(7343):313-8.
GFP Reconstitution Across Synaptic Partners (GRASP) defines cell contacts and synapses in living nervous systems.
Feinberg EH, Vanhoven MK, Bendesky A, Wang G, Fetter RD, Shen K, Bargmann CI.
Neuron. 2008 Feb 7;57(3):353-63.
2018
April 4: Andrés is named a Searle Scholar. News here.
March 19: Amy starts her postdoc in the lab
2017
September 1: Natalie starts her PhD in the lab
August 1: Lab opens
Contact
Andrés Bendesky
Jerome L. Greene Science Center
Columbia University
3227 Broadway, Room L3.051
New York, NY 10027
1-212-853-1174
andres@bendeskylab.com