Rachel defended her MS thesis today, titled “Neural control of quadrupedal walking in the flamboyant cuttlefish, Metasepia pfefferi”. Rachel’s project used video analysis and Deep Lab Cut to characterize the walking gait of metasepia, which is the only cephalopod genus to perform coordinated stepping using front arms and ventral papilla. Her work sheds new light on the organization of neural circuits for locomotion in cephalopods, and opens several new lines of study in these interesting and relatively under-studied animals.
During her time in the lab Rachel also worked on a project examining anesthesia and analgesia in cephalopods, which was published earlier this year. We are working on a manuscript describing her work on M. pfefferi and hope to see that published soon.
Rachel is applying for PhD programs in the upcoming 23/24 cycle, and we expect her to go on to exciting things! Congratulations Rachel!