# Prof. Aravinthan D.T. Samuel #### Aravi's [Curriculum ](/node/710799)[Vitae](/sites/g/files/omnuum2971/files/2025-05/CV-ADTSMay2025%20%28002%29-1.pdf "Curriculum Vitae") [(](/file_url/316)[PDF Version](https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:ea1c7114-dd8f-46e4-a3f8-52d8fbbed074)[)](/file_url/316) ![Photo Aravi Samuel](/sites/g/files/omnuum2971/files/2025-03/aravi_samuel_mco.jpg) Freely-behaving animals constantly transform sensory inputs into internal representations, memories, and purposeful behavioral outputs. To do this, they use algorithms and circuits. Larger animals use brain circuits . Single-celled organisms use biochemical circuits and signal-transduction pathways. To make progress, we use accessible biophysical models of organism behavior that can be studied from sensory input to motor output. We study bacterial chemotaxis using E. coli. We study navigational behaviors including chemotaxis, thermotaxis, and mating behaviors in the nematode C. elegans. We study thermosensory and olfactory behaviors in the Drosophila larva. In all of our studies, we apply expertise in optics and light microscopy. We build microscopes that allow us to manipulate and monitor the circuits that underlie behavior in freely-moving organisms. We use advanced high-throughput electron microscopy to map entire brain circuits at synaptic resolution. ***JOB OPENINGS:*** If you are an undergraduate, graduate student, or postdoctoral fellow with a background in biophysics, neuroscience, and/or physics who might be interested in joining our team, please contact Aravi Samuel. Harvard is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law. ## Recent Publications Download 6 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters=&&&format=ris) ### 2025 Eschbach, et al. [A multisensory, bidirectional, valence encoder guides behavioral decisions](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.26.678749v1.full). (2025). Eschbach, et al. [A multisensory, bidirectional, valence encoder guides behavioral decisions](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.26.678749v1.full). (2025). - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract A key function of the brain is to categorize sensory cues as repulsive or attractive and respond accordingly. While we have some understanding of how sensory information is processed in the sensory periphery, the classification of cues according to... Hosu, B. [Torque-generating units of the bacterial flagellar motor are rotary motors](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41337489/). (2025). Hosu, B. [Torque-generating units of the bacterial flagellar motor are rotary motors](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41337489/). (2025). - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract *Escherichia coli* swims using helical flagellar filaments driven at their base by a rotary motor. Torque-generating "stator" units drive the bacterial flagellar motor by transmitting mechanical power to a cytoplasmic "rotor," the C-ring. Each stator unit... Jacobsen, R. & Samuel, A. [Thermoregulation: Tactics for navigating thermal gradients](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41253121/). (2025). Jacobsen, R. & Samuel, A. [Thermoregulation: Tactics for navigating thermal gradients](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41253121/). (2025). - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Small ectotherms, including larval zebrafish, must thermoregulate by navigating up and down thermal gradients: new work quantifying the underlying behavioral algorithm and rich neural representations illuminates the strategy behind larval zebrafish... al, M. Y. et. [Smartem: Machine-learning guided electron microscopy](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11195061/). (2025). al, M. Y. et. [Smartem: Machine-learning guided electron microscopy](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11195061/). (2025). - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Connectomics provides nanometer-resolution, synapse-level maps of neural circuits to understand brain activity and behavior. However, few researchers have access to the high-throughput electron microscopes necessary to generate enough data for whole brain... Rogel-Hernandez, et al. [The anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug valproic acid attracts C. elegans and activates chemosensory neurons via a cGMP signaling pathway](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41292760/). (2025). Rogel-Hernandez, et al. [The anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug valproic acid attracts C. elegans and activates chemosensory neurons via a cGMP signaling pathway](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41292760/). (2025). - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Valproic acid (VPA) is a drug with both anticonvulsant and antimanic properties. It has been widely prescribed to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and other neuropsychiatric conditions for decades, but prenatal exposure is linked to developmental... Vrabioiu, et al. [The dynamic response of the bacterial flagellar motor to its direct intracellular input signal](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.28.684865v1). (2025). Vrabioiu, et al. [The dynamic response of the bacterial flagellar motor to its direct intracellular input signal](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.28.684865v1). (2025). - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract The bacterial flagellar motor drives bacterial swimming and chemotaxis by rotating helical flagellar filaments. When *Escherichia coli* navigates chemical gradients, the motor switches from counterclockwise (CCW) during forward swimming to clockwise (CW)... 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