More research news from the Harris Lab
Current research in the Harris Lab
Dr. Gareth Harris, and his research lab have continued to investigate how our brain controls behavior. Using C. elegans, a soil nematode, the lab has been working together to characterize how genes control decision-making behavior to attractive and repulsive cues. Recently, the Harris lab students collaborated in the study of how our brain controls sensation of human sensed odors, originating from coffee.
Students, Ashley Vega, Alexis Chua, Emily Chang, Liz Ayala, Amber Seader, and Adriana Torres recently published a peer-reviewed paper showing that worms can sense coffee, and this has provided an avenue to use the worm to study how the brain detects human sensed cues like coffee (paper title: “Worm like coffee too! Dissecting the mechanisms underlying sensation to a human sensed cue”). This work has been presented at various Southern California and national conferences between 2023 and 2025, including, SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and native Americans in Science, Arizona), NCUR (National Congress for Undergraduate Research), SCCUR (Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research, CSUSB), WCUR (West Coast Undergraduate Research Conference, Cal State San Marcos) and the CSU Biotech conference in California. These projects surrounding coffee sensation are currently being lead by Liz Ayala, Julia Moffa and Stephanie Linares.
In addition, for the last couple of years, a senior biology student, Emily Chang has been working on understanding the mechanisms of the brain involved in odor sensation, and uses worms to understand how organisms sense odors originating from catnip. Interestingly, worms like the smell of catnip. This has allowed our students, like Emily, to present their work at lots of conferences and are about to submit a paper for publication on how worms of different species show variation in their sensation of catnip related odors, and how this may link to cats showing varied responses to different catnip (paper title: “Characterizing behavioral variation in response to mammalian sensed odors”). Congratulations to Emily Chang, Amber Seader and Annabelle Tran in presenting work in these conferences, and submitting a potential publication on how organisms vary in their responses to mammalian sensed smells. Emily Chang with help from Leslie Suarez are continuing dissecting the behaviors involved in catnip sensation and attraction.
In the Harris lab, multiple students including, Julia Moffa, Lily Yered, Emily Ridino and Spooner Greenbird were successful in identifying new genes involved in processing different sensory cues from good (food) and bad odors (chemical repellents). They have also been able to identify examples of different worm species that originate from distinct geographical locations that respond to food cues and danger variably. In addition, a recent project lead by Lily Yered, Natalie Leon and Olivia Fagnani (“Characterizing the mechanisms involved in sensation of simultaneous presented cues to coordinate behavior”) are currently investigating different types of escape responses to distinct danger related odors, and have identified potential genes and specific nerves in the worm’s brain that are required for these escape responses. Some of this this work has been presented at SCCUR (2024) and CSU Biotech (2025).
Student success after research at CSU Channel Islands
Over the last 2 years many of our students have been successful in moving to advanced education, including, Masters degree and Doctoral degree programs across the US, as well as Biotech companies within Ventura and LA Counties. These student experiences, while being part of the biology, chemistry, psychology or health sciences departments at CSU Channel Islands have allowed exciting avenues to be pursued. Recent students in the lab, including, Delyar Khosrhoabadi were accepted to Yale University graduate program (2024), Natalie Leon has been accepted to doctoral programs (2025), Spooner Greenbird is now pursuing a PhD program at Utah State University (2024). Ashley Vega and Alexis Chua are now working at companies, Thermo fisher and Amgen, respectively. Finally, we have previous students, including Annabelle Tran and Bryant Cruz that are now working as research scientists in the Ophthalmology department at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA, studying mechanisms important for visual processing.
Our recent students, whom have joined the Harris lab, Stephanie Linares, Leslie Suarez and Jacki Thacker, are working on both pharmacology projects, previously lead by Cassandra McCambridge and olfactory projects in the lab. Welcome!
Our students still continue to focus on these projects, pairing neuroscience and a worm model system to understand important questions in brain function, using genetics, behavior, molecular biology and pharmacology. Many of these students in the Harris lab have been able to spend a significant amount of time in the lab thanks to support and funding opportunities provided through the NSF-funded HSI-SMART scholarship that have allowed a large number students to continuously engage in research at CSU Channel Islands. Thank you to the HSI-SMART scholarship for this fantastic opportunity.
Good job to the Harris lab students!