Research
My interests lie at the intersection of neuroanatomy, connectomics and computational neuroscience. Currently, my work focuses on generating, annotating, and analysing large-scale brain reconstructions—particularly in Drosophila—using electron microscopy to map complete wiring diagrams at synaptic resolution. Within that context, we are exploring how neural circuits vary across individuals, and understanding how sensory information such as olfactory signals are processed and integrated. Alongside my research, I develop and maintain open-source tools, workflows, and visualisation platforms to make complex connectomic data accessible and useful to the broader neuroscience community.
Publications
Berg, S., Beckett, I. R., Costa, M., Schlegel, P., … Jefferis, G. S. X. E. (2025). Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.09.680999
Schlegel, P., Yin, Y., Bates, A. S., … Jefferis, G. S. X. E. (2024). Whole-brain annotation and multi-connectome cell typing of Drosophila. Nature, 634(8032), 139–152. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07686-5
Schlegel, P., Bates, A. S., ... Jefferis, G. S. X. E. (2020). Information flow, cell types and stereotypy in a full olfactory connectome. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.15.401257
Bates, A. S., Schlegel, P., ... Jefferis, G. S. X. E. (2020). Complete connectomic reconstruction of olfactory projection neurons in the fly brain. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.19.911453
Schlegel, P., Costa, M., & Jefferis, G. S. X. E. (2017). Learning from connectomics on the fly. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 24, 96–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.09.011
Schlegel, P., Texada, M. J., Miroschnikow, A., Schoofs, A., Hückesfeld, S., Peters, M., … Pankratz, M. J. (2016). Synaptic transmission parallels neuromodulation in a central food-intake circuit. eLife, 5. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16799
Schoofs A, Hückesfeld S, Schlegel P, Miroschnikow A, Peters M, Zeymer M, Spieß R, Chiang AS, Pankratz MJ. Selection of motor programs for suppressing food intake and inducing locomotion in the Drosophila brain. PLoS Biol. 2014 Jun;12(6) e1001893. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001893. PMID: 24960360; PMCID: PMC4068981.
Dorkenwald, S., Matsliah, A., Sterling, A. R., Schlegel, P., ... Seung, S., Murthy, M. (2024). Neuronal wiring diagram of an adult brain. Nature, 634(8032), 124–138. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07558-y
Eckstein, N., Bates, A. S., Champion, A., Du, M., Yin, Y., Schlegel, P., … Funke, J. (2024). Neurotransmitter classification from electron microscopy images at synaptic sites in Drosophila melanogaster. Cell, 187(10), 2574-2594.e23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.016
Hückesfeld, S., Schlegel, P., ...Pankratz, M. J. (2020). Unveiling the sensory and interneuronal pathways of the neuroendocrine connectome inDrosophila. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.22.350306
Buhmann, J., ... Schlegel, P., ... Funke, J. (2019). Automatic Detection of Synaptic Partners in a Whole-BrainDrosophilaEM Dataset. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1101/2019.12.12.874172
Hückesfeld S, Schoofs A, Schlegel P, Miroschnikow A, Pankratz MJ. Localization of Motor Neurons and Central Pattern Generators for Motor Patterns Underlying Feeding Behavior in Drosophila Larvae. PLoS One. 2015;10(8):e0135011. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135011.
