Benjamin L. de Bivort

Benjamin L. de Bivort is a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Director of Graduate Studies at Harvard University. His research focuses on understanding the origins of behavioral individuality in animals with identical genomes, leveraging the Drosophila melanogaster model. He explores how genetic, neural, and environmental factors interact to produce persistent behavioral differences across individuals.

His work integrates experimental tools such as optogenetics, gene manipulation, and custom robotics (e.g., the MAPLE platform) to study neural circuits and behavioral variability. Key research themes include the genetic regulation of behavioral diversity, neural circuit mechanisms underlying individuality, and the ecological implications of behavioral variation in insects exposed to environmental stressors like neonicotinoids.

Publications highlight interdisciplinary approaches, bridging neuroethology, computational biology, and ecology. The de Bivort Lab collaborates widely, addressing questions at the intersection of behavior, evolution, and quantitative modeling. Current efforts aim to identify 'engrams of individuality'—specific neural features that dictate behavioral uniqueness—and to analyze social network dynamics in insect colonies.