Arthropod Brains into the future! Split-Seq single-cell sequencing awarded! (but also cockroaches)

The problem with studying small brains is that they are, in fact, small brains. If you've ever worked with brain tissues, you know that they are malleable, so small bits rarely hold their shape. We want to compare brain structures between hexapods (insects), stomatopods (mantis shrimps), and copepods and ostracods. Those last two? TINY BRAINS!

I just won a CORE-grant to sequencing single cell transcriptomes from 8 biological samples. I'll be generating data from all four groups to look at homologous and convergent structures at a cellular level. 

I also just looked up how to order a cockroach. I'm all for science being unpredictable, but this is just not what I thought my online shopping would look like today. Hmmm.