Forum
Launched in 2022, Dynamics Club is a UCLA-based forum for junior scientists to discuss nonlinear dynamics in biology and physiology. Starting from 2024, this is also the home for the UCLA-BRI Interoception/Brain-Body Dynamics Affinity Group.
Our monthly seminars are mostly on Zoom, with hybrid access to in-person events. Campus visits are made possible by the Brain Research Institute (BRI), Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology (IBP), and Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCBio).
Currently, we have 335 members. If you’re new, sign up here!
Job opportunities:
- Two PhD positions are available with Dr. Dagmar Iber at ETH (Basel) (Link1, Link2)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Sahib Khalsa at UCLA (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Natalie Porat-Shliom at NIH/NCI (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Eder Zavala at the University of Manchester (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Paul François at Université de Montréal (Details)
Key References (PDFs are available online):
Modeling Life by Alan Garfinkel, Jane Shetsov and Yina Guo (Teaching Materials)
Understanding Data by Alan Garfinkel and Yina Guo
Dynamics Club in November:
Deciphering circadian timekeeping in the brainstem satiety centre
Speaker: Lukasz Chrobok, PhD (Senior Lecturer; University of Bristol)
Date and Time: November 4 (Wednesday) at 9am Pacific Time / 12pm Eastern Time / 5pm Greenwich Mean Time
Virtual Event on Zoom (Meeting ID: 947 0224 4105; Passcode: 786550)
Abstract:
The dorsal vagal complex (DVC) includes a multi-component brainstem satiety centre which has gained attention as a key target of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies. Our recent studies revealed its circadian timekeeping properties, with molecular and electrophysiological 24 h rhythms persisting independently of the primary hypothalamic clock. However, the factors entraining these brainstem oscillators and the downstream transcriptional targets of the DVC molecular clock remain unclear. Here, using PERIOD2::LUCIFERASE reporter mice and fluorescent in situ hybridisation, we quantitatively demonstrate rhythms in core clock gene expression in the caudal DVC ex vivo and in vivo. We show that the molecular clock is associated with rhythmic expression of numerous neurotransmitter receptor genes in the DVC in vivo, with the phase of both clock and clock-controlled gene expression tightly regulated by meal timing. These findings uncover food-entrained circadian rhythms in the DVC and have important implications for clinical studies targeting brainstem satiety mechanisms.
Scheduled Sessions:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) |
| 2026 | Neurophysiological principles of reward | Dr. Annie Park (Oxford University) |
| 2027 | Cholinergic regulation of osteocyte mechanobiology | Dr. Karl J. Lewis (Cornell University) |
Past Events in 2026:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) | Materials |
| Jan 20 | Microdomain Metabolism in Pacemaker Myocytes: The Ca2+ Clock Drives the ATP Clock | Manuel Munoz Camus, PhD (UC Davis) | Pubmed |
| Feb 13 | Pulsed stimuli enable p53 phase resetting to synchronize single cells and modulate cell fate | Harish Venkatachalapathy, PhD (UMN) | Pubmed |
| Mar 6 | How neural heterogeneity controls network function | Richard Gast, PhD (Scripps Research) | Pubmed |
| Apr 10 | LNE Seminar: Leveraging small but persistent differences for detection in human health | Benjamin Smarr, PhD (UCSD) | Pubmed |
| Jun 25 | Epinephrine oscillation enhances the alertness of target cells to stress | Mark Greenwood, PhD (Whitehead Institute) | |
| Aug 26 | Immunometabolism in the brain: How brain-resident macrophages regulate tissue homeostasis | Drew Adler, PhD (NYU) | Pubmed |
| Sep 9 | Capturing spatiotemporal organization of tissue-wide Ca2+ activity in skin vasculature | Anush Swaminathan, PhD (Yale University) | Pubmed |
| Sep 24 | Pericyte KATP channel hyperactivity redistributes cortical blood flow | Danielle A. Jeffrey, PhD (CU Anschutz) | Pubmed |
| Oct 15 | Sleep deprivation and intensity on cerebral vasomotion and cardiorespiratory brain pulsations | Sara M. Ulv Larsen, MD, PhD (University of Copenhagen) | Pubmed |
Past Events in 2025
Past Events in 2024
Past Events in 2023
Past Events in 2022