Insights from insects: neural and mechanical determinants of locomotor control

Movement is a defining characteristic of animals. They have evolved a diversity of successful
movement strategies where responsiveness to their surroundings is paramount and perturbations are
the norm. My research program seeks to understand the physiological basis of a central challenge for
animals: the generation of stable, versatile locomotion through complex environments. Locomotion
arises through the interplay of multiple physiological systems acting in the context of an organism’s
interactions with it environment. A central task for animals during locomotion is acquiring, processing,
transforming and acting upon information. Yet nervous systems of animals must operate through the
physics of sensors and actuators to interface with the environment. Understanding how
neurophysiology, biomechanics and muscle physiology combine to shape locomotion demands an
approach that draws upon computational and analytical tools from the physical, mathematical and
engineering disciplines to complement a comparative experimental biology program: an integrative
science of biological movement.