The Fish Matrix: Understanding brain-wide neural dynamics during active behaviours

Chris Buckley was awarded £17k from the Research Development Fund for an interdisciplinary project to develop the hardware and software infrastructure necessary to image brain-wide neural activity in a fictively behaving zebrafish. The aim of this research was to establish Sussex as a leading innovator of this cutting-edge technology, allow unprecedented insight into the neural basis of active behaviours and enable Buckley to secure a £434k BBSRC award.

“My background is in Artificial Intelligence but over the last few years I have begun to work in the neurosciences.  When I started as a new lecturer at Sussex my aim was to write grants for both biology and engineering research councils. However, in the neurosciences successful grant applications require preliminary proof of concept data. For larger labs it may be possible to obtain this off the back of existing lab infrastructure but for new lecturers this is extremely hard to achieve.  The RDF allowed me the resources to collect convincing preliminary data that was central to my successful BBSRC application.  I now share an established lab in the neurosciences which has opened up whole new funding opportunities. I could not have achieved this without RDF funds.”

Dr Chris Buckley, Senior Lecturer in Neural Computation (Engineering and Informatics)

Timeline

April 2015: RDF proposal submitted

October 2015: RDF project starts

June 2016: RDF project ends

September 2016: BBSRC proposal submitted

March 2017: BBSRC outcome known

October 2017: BBSRC project begins

January 2018: BBSRC project ends