Biomechanics and neural control of swimming in fishes

We study the biomechanics, fluid dynamics, and neurophysiology of locomotion. Our work includes studies of how water moves around fish as they are swimming, measurements of how muscles can help them respond to changes in the environment, examinations of the sensory systems that detect the changes,  and research on the neural circuits that control locomotion and respond to those changes. We use experimental measurements, physical models, and computational simulations to study the feedback loops that include these systems.

Name of research group, project, or lab
Tytell Lab
Website
https://sites.tufts.edu/tytelllab/
Why join this research group or lab?

We study fish, which are cool! We even go on fishing trips as a lab! The lab group has 3 PhD students, 1 MS student, and 4 current undergraduate researchers. We are a collaborative group that works together on many different projects, and we also collaborate with roboticists and applied mathematicians regularly.

Our work is important to understand how all animals move, including humans. It can help us understand the diversity of animal life, and can help to design better underwater robots. It also has implications for therapies for  spinal cord injury and other human movement disorders.

Logistics Information:
Project categories
Physiology, Neurobiology, and Biomechanics
Student ranks applicable
1st year undergraduate
2nd year undergraduate
3rd year undergraduate
Masters
Student qualifications

Students should have taken Bio 14 "Organisms and Populations" and mechanics (Phys 1 or 11 or equivalent). Preference will be given to students who have taken upper level physiology courses (such as Bio 49, 75, 115, or 116). Experience with coding is a plus.

We prefer students who can commit to spending multiple summers or semesters working in the lab.

In your application, please

  1. Write up a short proposal of a project you would like to do, based on one of the papers published in the lab in the last 5 years. The proposal should be less than 250 words and include what question you would like to answer and the approach you would take.
  2. Explain your motivation, what you hope to gain from the experience, and current career plans
  3. List your relevant courses, grades, and experience
Hours per week
10-15hrs/wk
15+hrs/wk
5-10hrs/wk
Compensation
Unpaid - Volunteer
Number of openings
1
Techniques learned

Techniques will depend on the specific project, but may include

  • Fish husbandry, care and training
  • Anatomy, dissection and surgical methods for fish
  • High speed video
  • Machine learning techniques for tracking and processing video data
  • Processing and analyzing CT scan data
  • Data analysis and visualization using R or Python
Project start
Spring 2025
This project will use an Expectations and Structure agreement.
Expectations and Structure

This project is designed to foster a collaborative and intellectually engaging environment where both the mentor and student contribute to advancing biomechanical studies of swimming in fishes. Students are expected to commit 10 or more hours per week (to be agreed upon) to independent work, including lab setup and experiments, data analysis, and literature review. 

Students must maintain good records of their experiments and data analysis on LabArchives and ensure that all data are documented and backed up. I will provide training in best practices for record keeping and data management.

Students will be expected to contribute to lab maintenance, which will include cleaning and organizing in the lab and contributing to caring for the fish.

I expect students to attend and participate in our weekly summer lab meeting (time to be determined), which will include paper discussions, guest speakers, workshops, and occasional field trips. Regular weekly meetings (either in-person or virtual) will be scheduled to discuss progress, troubleshoot challenges, and set goals for the following week. In addition to these meetings, students should maintain consistent communication via Slack for quick updates and questions.

Contact Information:
Mentor
Eric Tytell
Eric.Tytell@tufts.edu
Name of project director or principal investigator
Eric Tytell
Email address of project director or principal investigator
eric.tytell@tufts.edu
1 sp. | 0 appl.
Hours per week
10-15hrs/wk (+2)
10-15hrs/wk15+hrs/wk5-10hrs/wk
Project categories
Physiology, Neurobiology, and Biomechanics