Carolyn Elya

The Elya lab focuses on unraveling the mechanisms by which parasitic fungi manipulate animal behavior, using the lab-tractable "zombie fly" model system (Drosophila melanogaster infected with the fungal parasite Entomophthora muscae). Zombie flies flies exhibit dramatic behavioral changes before: they climb to elevated positions ("summit disease"), extend their proboscis and get glued in situ by fungal structures, then raise their wings up and away from their back. This eerie behavioral sequence serves to ideally position dying flies for imminent fungal dispersal. The Elya lab aims to understand these processes from the molecular to the neural circuit level, integrating behavioral analysis, genetics, molecular biology, neurobiology, and microbiology to address fundamental questions in host-pathogen interactions and behavioral control.