{"693762":{"#nid":"693762","#data":{"type":"event","title":"BioE PhD Defense Presentation-  Erin Shappell","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvisor\u003C\/strong\u003E: Dr. Hang Lu (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members\u003C\/strong\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Patrick McGrath (School of Biological Sciences)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Gordon Berman (Department of Biology, Emory University)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Simon Sponberg (School of Physics)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Eva Dyer (School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETo eat or not to eat\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E: A Computational Framework for Modeling Feeding and Exploratory Behavior in Aging \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EC. elegans\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETo eat, or not to eat?\u003C\/strong\u003E This seemingly simple question reflects the complex coordination of sensory, motor, and physiological processes that allow organisms to locate and consume food. Understanding how feeding-related behaviors change with food conditions and age requires methods capable of capturing subtle movements and their organization over time. In this work, I develop computational approaches for quantifying feeding and exploratory behaviors in freely moving \u003Cem\u003ECaenorhabditis elegans\u003C\/em\u003E and investigate how feeding history, sensory information, and aging influence these behaviors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFirst, I introduce EZ-FRCNN and PumpKin, which enable automated detection of biological structures and measurement of pharyngeal pumping without immobilization or genetic modification. Next, I present CastKin, a method for isolating exploratory head movements from broader body motion. Using these tools, I demonstrate that feeding-related behaviors vary with feeding history and pumping ability, while both olfactory and mechanosensory cues independently influence head casting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinally, I develop a head-centered Markov model of foraging behavior and apply it to over 1,400 videos of well-fed and starved worms across the first 14 days of adulthood. This analysis reveals previously unresolved behavioral subtypes and age- and feeding-dependent differences in how worms occupy and transition between behavioral states.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, these findings demonstrate the value of measuring fine-scale behaviors and their temporal dynamics, providing new tools and insights for understanding how feeding and exploration are regulated throughout adulthood.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBioE PhD Defense Presentation- \u0026nbsp;\u0022To eat or not to eat: A Computational Framework for Modeling Feeding and Exploratory Behavior in Aging C. elegans\u0022 - Erin Shappell\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u0022To eat or not to eat: A Computational Framework for Modeling Feeding and Exploratory Behavior in Aging C. elegans\u0022"}],"uid":"27917","created_gmt":"2026-11-04 15:52:41","changed_gmt":"2026-11-04 15:53:29","author":"Laura Paige","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-11-13T09:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2026-11-13T11:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-11-13T11:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-11-13 14:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-11-13 16:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-11-13 16:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"3029 EBB","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"65448","name":"Bioengineering Graduate Program"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"172056","name":"go-BioE"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}