Interests

In the Desplan Lab, I study how ganglion mother cells (GMCs) in the Drosophila optic lobe handle the temporal transcription factor (tTF) cascade inherited from their parent neuroblasts. While neuroblasts progress through temporal identity states like a ticking clock, this program halts in GMCs. My central question is whether GMCs actively “freeze” temporal identity — and if so, what molecular mechanisms stabilize this pause and how it is later released as neurons differentiate. To answer this, I combine genetic tools with quantitative readouts to track temporal identity transitions across the NB-GMC-neuron lineage.

Outside of research, I enjoy traveling, baking, and wandering through New York’s music venues!