Kenta Asahina

Kenta Asahina is an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of BIO at the University of California, San Diego. His research focuses on the genetic, neuronal, and circuitry bases of animal social interactions. Specifically, his laboratory investigates the neural circuits controlling aggressive interactions in the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster, and how genes functioning in these circuits mediate intracellular and inter-neuronal communications. His work combines genetic, physiological, and behavioral methods to manipulate gene and neuron functions and elucidate their behavioral consequences. The overarching aim of his research is to understand how genes and neurons shape an animal’s choice of behavior during social interactions and how behavioral experience influences the operation of neural circuits controlling social behaviors.