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The broad aim of my research is to elucidate the mechanisms by which animals utilize cues in their environment (e.g., visual, chemical, mechanical) to regulate locomotive behavior. Drawing from control and dynamical systems theory, I investigate how sensory inputs are perceived and integrated, and how these processes are transformed into particular patterns of motor output. The relatively small complexity and behavioral richness of insects present an ideal setting on which to conduct such studies. The long term goal of the investigations is twofold: understanding neural bases behind such sensory-to-motor transformations, and elucidating the role of lower-level locomotive behaviors in higher-level tasks performed by the insects, such as foraging, escaping from predators, or avoiding obstacles that obstruct their path.

At present, I am focused in the characterization of flight dynamics and control in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) under the advise of Prof. Michael H. Dickinson and Prof. Richard M. Murray.