Dr Stefan Pulver

Senior Lecturer

Researcher profile

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 3503

Email

sp96@st-andrews.ac.uk

 

Teaching

I teach on various modules in the School of Psychology and Neurocience and School of Biology. I founded and now coordinate the Masters of Research (MRes) in Neuroscience programme. I serve as faculty advisor for Students Teaching Teachers Teaching Students (ST3S), an initiative aimed at empowering students to impact how neuroscience educators teach.

Research areas

I study the neuroethology of movement in small animals. I am particulraly interested in understanding how the brains of insects control complex physical plants to solve problems associated with moving over different types of terrain. Work in the lab is highly integrative, involving everything from genetics to anatomy to electrophyisology and live imaging to biomechanics and animal behaviour in the field. We work with multiple species including flies, beetles, and aquatic invertebrates. Our work is well positioned to inform work in vertebrates and influence development of  biologically inspired machines. Lab members weave research, teaching and outreach together and we invest in developing sustainable, accessible ways of doing science.

PhD supervision

• William Smith
• Ranjini Sircar
• Max Leach
• Jacob Thomas-Hegarty
• Rebecca Lewis

Selected publications

• Open access

  Deformable microlaser force sensing

  Dalaka, E., Hill, J. S., Booth, J. H. H., Popczyk, A., Pulver, S. R., Gather, M. C. & Schubert, M., 5 Jun 2024, In: Light: Science & Applications. 13, 14 p., 129.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  Optical mapping of ground reaction force dynamics in freely behaving Drosophila melanogaster larvae

  Booth, J. R. H., Meek, A. T., Kronenberg, N. M., Pulver, S. R. & Gather, M. C., 23 Jul 2024, In: eLife. 12, 24 p., RP87746.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  Temporal dynamics of Na/K pump mediated memory traces: insights from conductance-based models of Drosophila neurons

  Megwa, O. F., Pascual, L. M., Günay, C., Pulver, S. R. & Prinz, A. A., 22 May 2023, In: Frontiers in Neuroscience. 17, 18 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  Localization of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor dependent rhythm generating modules in the Drosophila larval locomotor network

  Jonaitis, J., MacLeod, J. & Pulver, S. R., 15 Apr 2022, In: Journal of Neurophysiology. 127, 4, p. 1098-1116

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  An electrically coupled pioneer circuit enables motor development via proprioceptive feedback in Drosophila embryos

  Zeng, X., Komanome, Y., Kawasaki, T., Inada, K., Jonaitis, J., Pulver, S. R., Kazama, H. & Nose, A., 18 Oct 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Current Biology. In press

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  Regulation of coordinated muscular relaxation in Drosophila larvae by a pattern-regulating intersegmental circuit

  Hiramoto, A., Jonaitis, J., Niki, S., Kohsaka, H., Fetter, R. D., Cardona, A., Pulver, S. R. & Nose, A., 19 May 2021, In: Nature Communications. 12, 14 p., 2943.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  Inexpensive methods for live imaging of central pattern generator activity in the Drosophila larval locomotor system

  Booth, J., Sane, V., Gather, M. C. & Pulver, S. R., 31 Dec 2020, In: Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education. 19, 1, p. A124-A133

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  Segment-specific optogenetic stimulation in Drosophila melanogaster with linear arrays of organic light-emitting diodes

  Murawski, C., Pulver, S. R. & Gather, M. C., 7 Dec 2020, In: Nature Communications. 11, 11 p., 6248.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access

  Narrowband organic light-emitting diodes for fluorescence microscopy and calcium imaging

  Murawski, C., Mischok, A., Booth, J. H., Kumar, J. D., Archer, E., Tropf, L. C., Keum, C., Deng, Y., Yoshida, K., Samuel, I. D. W., Schubert, M., Pulver, S. & Gather, M. C., 5 Sept 2019, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Advanced Materials. Early View, 8 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• New applications of organic LEDs in biophotonics

  Murawski, C., Mischok, A., Keum, C., Kumar, J. D., Pulver, S. R. & Gather, M. C., 2018, Solid-State Lighting, SSL 2018. Optical Society of American (OSA), (Optics InfoBase Conference Papers; vol. Part F117-SSL 2018).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

 

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