From one moment to the next our senses take in a remarkable amount of information. However, we may need to adjust how we respond based on a variety of factors including time of day, hunger and prior experience. My research focuses on the cellular and network mechanisms by which the nervous system can flexibly encode sensory information. We rely primarily on the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, but also use comparative neuroanatomy to study how the mechanisms that enable network flexibility have evolved to meet changing selective pressures.  Our overall goal is to explore the foundational principles that allow animals to respond to an ever changing internal and external environment.