Jan Marek Ache

Jan Marek Ache serves as an Emmy Noether Group Leader at the Chair of Neurobiology and Genetics within the Biocenter of the University of Würzburg. His research program focuses on unraveling the neuronal mechanisms that enable flexible and adaptive behavior in animals, using Drosophila as a model system.

Ache's research interests center on understanding how animals respond flexibly and context-dependently to sensory stimuli. His work combines cutting-edge methodologies including optogenetics, in vivo electrophysiology, and calcium imaging with detailed anatomical reconstruction of neuronal circuits. His lab investigates two complementary research lines: (1) sensorimotor circuits controlling innate behaviors such as walking, flying, and feeding, and (2) modulatory circuits that allow anatomically constrained circuits to process information in flexible, state-dependent ways, with a current focus on the insulin system.

• Emmy Noether Fellowship (prestigious DFG-funded research position for early-career scientists)

As an Emmy Noether Group Leader, Ache directs an independent research team investigating how internal states shape behavior and vice versa. His laboratory employs a comprehensive suite of techniques including in-vivo patch-clamp recordings, calcium imaging in behaving flies, optogenetics, automated behavioral analyses, and connectomics to address fundamental questions about behavioral flexibility. His research has significant implications for understanding the neural basis of decision-making and state-dependent processing across species.

Ache's research group operates within the Biocenter infrastructure at the University of Würzburg, utilizing advanced neurobiological and genetic tools to study Drosophila neural circuits. The lab maintains a strong focus on both experimental and computational approaches to neuroscience, as evidenced by publications spanning electrophysiology, behavioral analysis, and computational modeling of neural systems.