Steven Flavell

Steven Flavell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, and an Investigator at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He joined MIT in 2016 after completing postdoctoral work at Rockefeller University under Dr. Cori Bargmann. His research focuses on understanding how neuromodulatory systems control long-lasting behavioral states such as arousal, motivation, and mood in organisms like C. elegans. His lab uses genetic tools, in vivo imaging, and optogenetics to map neural circuits and study how environmental cues influence behavioral state dynamics.

• Education:
  • B.A., Oberlin College
  • Ph.D., Harvard University (with Dr. Michael Greenberg)

Research interests include the molecular mechanisms of gut-brain signaling, circuit-level mechanisms of neuromodulator action, and the integration of physiological and environmental information into behavioral states. His lab employs C. elegans as a model due to its defined nervous system (302 neurons with known connectome) and genetic tractability.

Key achievements include discovering how serotonin organizes circuit-wide neuronal activity during behavioral transitions and characterizing ASIC-mediated gut signaling pathways. His work has been recognized through awards like the HHMI Investigatorship (2024), NSF CAREER Award, and McKnight Scholars Award.

• Teaching: Teaches Experimental Molecular Neurobiology (9.12) and Systems Neuroscience Laboratory (9.17).
• Labs/Teams: Leads the Flavell Lab at MIT, collaborating with neural engineers and computational biologists to build brain-wide functional maps.