Leslie Claire Griffith

Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Volen National Center for Complex Systems

griffith@brandeis.edu
781-736-3125
Carl J. Shapiro Science Center, 2-06B

Departments/Programs

Biology
Neuroscience
Volen National Center for Complex Systems

Degrees

Stanford University, M.D.
Stanford University, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S.

Expertise

Biochemistry of synaptic plasticity and neuronal basis of behavior.

Profile

See my lab webpage at: https://www.griffithlabbrandeis.com/ Webpage

Courses Taught

BIOL	91g	Introduction to Research Practice
NBIO	142b	Circadian Rhythms and Sleep
NBIO	148b	Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Excitability and Plasticity
NEUR	91g	Introduction to Research Practice

Awards and Honors

Jacob Javits Award, NIH (2019)

Elected Fellow of the AAAS (2018)

SASTRA-Obaid Siddiqi Award in Life Sciences from SASTRA University, Thanjuvar, India (2018)

Honorary Member Royal Academy of European Doctors (2016)

Benzer Lecture at CSH Neurobiology of Drosophila meeting (2015)

Nancy Lurie Marks Chair in Neuroscience (2012)

Keynote Speaker, Southeast Nerve Net Conference, St. Augustine, FL (2011)

Invited Speaker, 10th Anniversary Symposium for the Kyoto Drosophila Genetics Resource Center (2010)

Plenary Speaker, Neurofly Meeting, Manchester, England (2010)

Elected member of the Drosophila Board (2008 - 2011)

Meyerof Lecturer, Max-Planck Institute, Heidelberg (2008)

Society for Neuroscience Presidential Lecture (2008)

Scholar in residence, Neural Systems and Behavior, Marine Biological Labs, Woods Hole (2007 - 2006)

McKnight Technological Innovation Award (1999 - 2000)

National Institutes of Health Career Development Award (1996 - 2001)

Whitehall Foundation Grant (1995 - 1997)

Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1994 - 1996)

Klingenstein Research Fellowship (1994 - 1997)

Scholarship

Wiggin, T.D., Hsaio, Y.-Y., Liu, J., Huber, R. and Griffith, L.C.. "Rest is required to learn an appetitively-reinforced operant task in Drosophila." Front. Neural. Circuits Submitted. (2021). (forthcoming)

Adel, M. and Griffith, L.C.. "The role of dopamine in associative learning in Drosophila: An updated unified model." Neurosci. Bull. doi: 10.1007/s12264-021-00665-0. (2021).

Chouhan, N.S., Griffith, L.C., Haynes, P. and Sehgal, A.. "Availability of food determines the need for sleep in memory consolidation." Nature 589. (2021): 582-585.

Donelson, N.C., Dixit, R., Pichardo-Casas, I., Chiu, E.Y., Ohman, R.T., Slawson, J.B., Klein, M., Fulga, T.A., Van Vactor, D. and Griffith, L.C.. "MicroRNAs regulate multiple aspects of locomotor behavior in Drosophila." G3 10. (2020): 43-55.

Flyer-Adams, J.G., Rivera-Rodriguez, E.J., Mardovin, J., Yu, J. and Griffith, L.C.. "Regulation of olfactory associative memory by the circadian clock output signal Pigment-dispersing factor (PDF)." J. Neurosci. 40. (2020): 9066-9077.

McNeill, E.M., Warinner, C., Alkins, S., Taylor, A., Heggeness H., DeLuca, T.F., Fulga, T.A., Wall, D.P., Griffith, L.C., Van Vactor D.. "The conserved microRNA miR-34 regulates synaptogenesis via coordination of distinct mechanisms in presynaptic and postsynaptic cells." Nat. Comm. 11. (2020): 1-13.

Wiggin, T.D., Goodwin, P.R., Donelson, N.C., Liu, C., Trinh, K., Sanyal, S. and Griffith, L.C.. "Covert sleep-related biological processes are revealed by probabilistic analysis in Drosophila." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 117. (2020): 10024-10034.

Liu, C., Meng, Z., Wiggin, T.D., Yu, J., Reed, M.L., Guo, F., Zhang, Y., Rosbash, M. and Griffith, L.C.. "A serotonin-modulated circuit controls sleep architecture to regulate cognitive function independent of total sleep in Drosophila." Curr. Biol. 29. (2019): 3635-3646.

Bronk, P., Kuklin, E.A., Liu, C., Wiggin, T.D., Reed, M.L., Gorur-Shandilya, S., Marder, E. and Griffith, L.C.. "Regulation of Eag by calcium/calmodulin controls presynaptic excitability in Drosophila." J. Neurophysiol. 11. (2018): 1665-1680.

Goodwin, P.R., Meng, A., Moore, J., Fulga, T.A., Van Vactor, D. and Griffith, L.C.. "MicroRNAs regulate sleep and sleep homeostasis in Drosophila." Cell Rep. 23. (2018): 3776-3786.

Otmakhova, N.A., Otmakhov, N. and Griffith, L.C.. "Memories of John Lisman." Front. Neural Circuits doi: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00024. (2018).

Kim, E.K., Vienne, J., Rosbash, M. and Griffith, L.C.. "Non-reciprocal homeostatic compensation in Drosophila potassium channel mutant." J. Neurophys. 117. (2017): 2125-2136.

Kuklin, E.A., Alkins, S.A., Genco, M.C., Bakthavachalu, B, Sudhakaran, I. VijayRaghavan, K., Ramaswami, M. and Griffith, L.C.. "The long UTR mRNA of CaMKII is essential for translation-dependent plasticity of spontaneous release in Drosophila melanogaster." J. Neurosci. 37. (2017): 10554-10566.

Vogels, T.P. and Griffith L.C.. "Editorial overview: Neurobiology of learning and plasticity 2017." Curr. Op. Neurobiol. 43. (2017): A1-A5.

Guo, F., Yu, J., Jung, H.J., Abruzzi, K.C., Luo, W., Griffith, L.C. and Rosbash, M.. "Circadian neuron feedback controls the Drosophila sleep-activity profile." Nature 536. (2016): 292-297.

Liu, C., Haynes, P.R., Donelson, N.C., Aharon, S., Griffith, L.C.. "Sleep in populations of Drosophila melanogaster." eNeuro doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0071-15.2015. (2016).

Parisky, K.M., Agosto Rivera, J.L., Donelson, N.C., Kotecha, S. and Griffith, L.C.. "Reorganization of sleep by temperature in Drosophila requires light, the homeostat and the circadian clock." Curr. Biol. 26. (2016): 882-892.

Haynes, P.R., Christmann, B.L. and Griffith, L.C. "A single pair of neurons links sleep to memory consolidation in Drosophila melanogaster." eLife doi: 10.7554/eLife.03868. (2015).

Langenhan, T., Barr, M.M., Bruchas, M.R., Ewer, J., Griffith, L.C., Maiellaro, I., Taghert, P.H., White, B.H. and Monk, K.R.. "Model organisms in GPCR research." Mol Pharmacol 88. (2015): 596-603.

Chi, M.W., Griffith, L.C. and Vecsey, C.G. "Larval population density alters adult sleep in wild-type Drosophila melanogaster but not in amnesiac mutant flies." Brain Sciences 4. (2014): 453-470.

Griffith, L.C. "A big picture of a small brain." eLife doi: 10.7554/eLife.05580. (2014).

Griffith, L.C. "Courtship Learning." Behavioral genetics of the fly (Drosophila melanogaster). 1st ed. Ed. Dubnau, J.. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 116-124.

Griffith, L.C. "Up all night on a redeye flight." eLife 3:e02087, doi: 10.7554/eLife.02087. (2014).

Griffith, L.C. "What females really want." Nature 512. (2014): 138-139.

Griffith, L.C.. "Courtship Learning." Behavioral genetics of the fly (Drosophila melanogaster). 1st ed. vol. 1 Ed. Dubnau, J.. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 116-124.

Mukherjee, K., Slawson, J.B., Christmann, B.L. and Griffith, L.C. "Neuron-specific protein interactions of Drosophila CASK are revealed by mass spectrometry." Front Molec Neurosci doi:10.3389/fnmol.2014.00058. (2014).

Slawson, J.B., Kuklin, E.A. Mukherjee, K., Pirez, N., Donelson, N.C. and Griffith, L.C. "Regulation of dopamine release by CASK-β modulates locomotor initiation in Drosophila melanogaster." Front Behav Neurosci doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00394. (2014).

Vecsey, C.G., Pirez, N. and Griffith, L.C. "The Drosophila neuropeptides PDF and sNPF have opposing electrophysiological and molecular effects on target cells." J. Neurophys. 110. (2014): 1033-1045.

Griffith, L.C.. "Neuromodulatory control of sleep in Drosophila melanogaster: Integration of competing and complementary behaviors." Curr. Op. Neurobiol. 5. (2013): 819-823.

Ni, L., Bronk, P. Chang, E.C., Lowell, A.M., Flam, J.O., Panzano, V.C., Theobald, D.L., Griffith, L.C. and Garrity, P.A.. "A gustatory receptor paralog controls rapid warmth avoidance in Drosophila." Nature 500. (2013): 580-584.

Pirez, N., Christmann, B. and Griffith, L.C.. "Daily rhythms in locomotor circuits in Drosophila involve PDF." J. Neurophysiol. 100. (2013): 700-708.

Shang, Y., Donelson, N.C., Vecsey, C.G., Guo, F., Rosbash, M. and Griffith, L.C.. "Modulation of the Drosophila arousal system by short neuropeptide F differentially regulates sleep and feeding." Neuron 80. 171-183 (2013).

Berni, J., Pulver, S.R., Griffith, L.C. and Bate, M.. "Autonomous circuitry for substrate exploration in freely moving Drosophila larvae." Curr. Biol. 22. (2012): 1861-1870.

Donelson, N., Kim, E.Z., Slawson, J.B., Vecsey, C.G., Huber, R. and Griffith, L.C.. "High-resolution long-term tracking for analysis of Drosophila sleep and locomotion." PLoS ONE 7. 5 (2012): e46025.

Griffith, L.C.. "Identifying behavioral circuits in Drosophila melanogaster: Moving targets in a flying insect." Curr. Op. Neurobiol. 22. (2012): 609-614.

Maiya, R., Lee, S. Berger, K.H., Kong, E.C., Slawson, J.B., Griffith, L.C., Huganir, R.L., Margolis, B. and Heberlein, U.. "DlgS97/SAP97, a neuronal isoform of Discs Large, regulates ethanol tolerance." PLoSONE 7. 11 (2012): e48967.

Trott, A., Donelson, N.C., Griffith, L.C. and Ejima, A.. "Song choice is modulated by female movement in Drosophila males." PLoSONE 7. 9 (2012): e46025.

Ejima, A. and Griffith, L.C.. "Assay for courtship suppression." CSH Protoc. doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot5575. (2011).

Griffith, L.C.. "Circadian biology: The supporting cast takes on a starring role." Curr. Biol. 21. (2011): R313-314.

Li, Y., Liu, X., Wu, Y., Xu, Z., Li, H., Griffith, L. C., Zhou, Y.. "Intracellular regions of the Eag potassium channel play a critical role in generation of voltage-dependent currents." J Biol Chem 286. 2 (2011): 1389-99.

Shang, Y., Haynes, P., Pirez, N., Harrington, K.I., Pollack, J., Hong, P. Griffith, L.C., and Rosbash, M.. "Imaging analysis of clock neurons reveals light buffers the wake-promoting effect of dopamine." Nat. Neurosci. 14. (2011): 889-895.

Slawson, J. B., Kuklin, E. A., Ejima, A., Mukherjee, K., Ostrovsky, L., Griffith, L. C.. "Central regulation of locomotor behavior of Drosophila melanogaster depends on a CASK isoform containing CaMK-like and L27 domains." Genetics 187. 1 (2011): 171-84.

Kang, K., Pulver, S. R., Panzano, V. C., Chang, E. C., Griffith, L. C., Theobald, D. L., Garrity, P. A.. "Analysis of Drosophila TRPA1 reveals an ancient origin for human chemical nociception." Nature 464. 7288 (2010): 597-600.

Pulver, S. R., Griffith, L. C.. "Spike integration and cellular memory in a rhythmic network from Na+/K+ pump current dynamics." Nat Neurosci 13. 1 (2010): 53-9.

Bostrom, S. L., Dore, J., Griffith, L. C.. "CaMKII uses GTP as a phosphate donor for both substrate and autophosphorylation." Biochem Biophys Res Commun 390. 4 (2009): 1154-9.

Griffith, L. C., Ejima, A.. "Courtship learning in Drosophila melanogaster: diverse plasticity of a reproductive behavior." Learn Mem 16. 12 (2009): 743-50.

Griffith, L. C., Ejima, A.. "Multimodal sensory integration of courtship stimulating cues in Drosophila melanogaster." Ann N Y Acad Sci 1170. (2009): 394-8.

Griffith, L. C.. "Attention K-Mart shoppers: blowout on Aisle 7!." Neuron 64. 4 (2009): 443-5.

Hornstein, N. J., Pulver, S. R., Griffith, L. C.. "Channelrhodopsin2 mediated stimulation of synaptic potentials at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions." J Vis Exp 25 (2009).

Pulver, S. R., Pashkovski, S. L., Hornstein, N. J., Garrity, P. A., Griffith, L. C.. "Temporal dynamics of neuronal activation by Channelrhodopsin-2 and TRPA1 determine behavioral output in Drosophila larvae." J Neurophysiol (2009).

Slawson, J. B., Kim, E. Z., Griffith, L. C.. "High-resolution video tracking of locomotion in adult Drosophila melanogaster." J Vis Exp 24 (2009).

Sun, X. X., Bostrom, S. L., Griffith, L. C.. "Alternative splicing of the eag potassium channel gene in Drosophila generates a novel signal transduction scaffolding protein." Mol Cell Neurosci 40. 3 (2009): 338-43.

Agosto, J., Choi, J. C., Parisky, K. M., Stilwell, G., Rosbash, M., Griffith, L. C.. "Modulation of GABA(A) receptor desensitization uncouples sleep onset and maintenance in Drosophila." Nat Neurosci (2008).

Ejima, A., Griffith, L. C.. "Courtship initiation is stimulated by acoustic signals in Drosophila melanogaster." PLoS ONE 3. 9 (2008): e3246.

Griffith, L. C., Rosbash, M.. "Sleep: hitting the reset button." Nat Neurosci 11. 2 (2008): 123-4.

Griffith, L. C.. "CaMKII: new tricks for an old dog." Cell 133. 3 (2008): 397-9.

Griffith, L. C.. "Neuroscience: love hangover." Nature 451. 7174 (2008): 24-5.

Parisky, K. M., Agosto, J., Pulver, S. R., Shang, Y., Kuklin, E., Hodge, J. J., Kang, K., Liu, X., Garrity, P. A., Rosbash, M., Griffith, L. C.. "PDF cells are a GABA-responsive wake-promoting component of the Drosophila sleep circuit." Neuron 60. 4 (2008): 672-82.

Shang, Y., Griffith, L. C., Rosbash, M.. "Light-arousal and circadian photoreception circuits intersect at the large PDF cells of the Drosophila brain." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105. 50 (2008): 19587-94.

Ejima, A., Griffith, L. C.. "Measurement of courtship behavior in Drosophila." CSH Protocols (2007).

Ejima, A., Smith, B. P., Lucas, C., van der Goes van Naters, W., Miller, C. J., Carlson, J. R., Levine, J. D., Griffith, L. C.. "Generalization of courtship learning in Drosophila is mediated by cis-vaccenyl acetate." Curr Biol 17. 7 (2007): 599-605.

Mattaliano, M. D., Montana, E. S., Parisky, K. M., Littleton, J. T., Griffith, L. C.. "The Drosophila ARC homolog regulates behavioral responses to starvation." Mol Cell Neurosci 36. 2 (2007): 211-21.

Mullasseril, P., Dosemeci, A., Lisman, J. E., Griffith, L. C.. "A structural mechanism for maintaining the 'on-state' of the CaMKII memory switch in the post-synaptic density." J Neurochem 103. 1 (2007): 357-64.

Pulver, S.R., Griffith, L. C.. "Dr. Strangslug, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the brain." Nat Neurosci 10. (2007): 933.

Griffith,Leslie Claire. "Sequential learning of pheromonal cues modulates memory consolidation in trainer-specific associative courtship conditioning." Curr. Biol. 15. (2005): 194-206.

Griffith,Leslie Claire wiith Hodge, J.J.L., Choi, J.C., O'Kane, C.J. "Shaw potassium channel genes in Drosophila." J. Neurobiol. (2004).

Griffith,Leslie Claire with Mehren, J.E., Eljima, A. and Griffith. "Unconventional sex: Fresh approaches to courtship learning." (2004): 745-750.

Griffith,Leslie Claire. "Associative learning of courtship behavior with scents of females." 45th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, 2004.

Griffith,Leslie Claire. "Calcium-independent CaMKII in the adult Drosophila CNS enhances the training of pheromonal cues." J. Neurosci (2004): 10584-10593.

Griffith,Leslie Claire. "Regulation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activation by intramolecular and intermolecular interactions." (2004): 8394-8398.

Griffith,Leslie Claire. Regulation of the Ca2=- stimulable pool of CaMKII by scaffold-dependent autophosphorylation'. Proc. of Cold Spring Harbor Receptor and Channel Meeting. 2004.