Broadie Laboratory

Hometown: I am from the Pacific Northwest, and it will always be my spirtual home. I was born outside of Butte, Montana (Silver Bow County). My family (on both sides) still resides around the feet of the Sawtooth Mountains in central Idaho. I grew up mostly in Washington and Oregon. I consider Ashland, Oregon to be my hometown.

Research Project: Everything in the Broadie Lab! I am first and foremost a synapse biologist. I am interested in how synapses develop during neural circuit assembly, how synapses function during neurotransmission, and how synapses adapt during synaptic plasticity. I study both the normal and abnormal in heritable disease states.

Favorite Lab Technique: I love most biology that happens before my eyes; synaptic electrophysiology and live imaging. My favorite is whole-cell patch-clamp recording hooked to a speaker, so that I can hear the cell’s health, the “pop” of a synaptic transmission event and, most of all, the high-pitch rattle of a burst of synaptic activity.

Favorite Drosophila Gene Name: So many great names! Such a rich tapestry of history!! I pay homage to some names we bestowed: mind-the-gap (“mind” in the English sense to “beware of”), rolling blackout (after power outages in California), turtle (stuck on your back), bad reception (receptor loss), slug-a-bed (English slang for lazy).

Hobbies: Anything and everything in the woods and mountains; hiking, camping, fly-fishing. Dancing to traditional, driving, live music; American contra dance, English country dance, Scottish dancing. Reading, reading, reading; accurate historical fiction, imaginative fantasy, the best sci fi. Hanging with my wonderful dog Alice.