My project is part of a collaborative study with the MPI for Chemical Ecology Jena and the University of Cologne to gain insights into the evolution of olfactory core circuits in arthropods as part of the DFG priority program 'Evolutionary Optimisation of Neuronal Processing' (DFG SPP 2205). I am studying the olfactory pathway of the amphipod crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis (Dana, 1853), which is of similar size to many hexapods (1cm). I am describing the morphology of the central olfactory processing areas, especially the olfactory lobe, a neuropil structured in glomeruli.

For this project, I use different neuroanatomical methods, e.g.,  immunohistochemistry, histology, light and confocal laser-scanning microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), as well as 3D reconstruction using AMIRA and CATMAID.