Rusan Lab / Our science

Modeling Human Disease

We use Drosophila models to investigate the cellular and organismal consequences of human disease. Our work connects genetic perturbations with developmental, behavioral, and systemic phenotypes, including centrosome-related disorders and cancer.

We have developed Autobehaver, a high-throughput platform that combines scalable recording hardware with Transformer-based machine learning to quantify Drosophila behavior.

From disease models to quantitative phenotypes

Autobehaver transforms raw video into profiles of movement and orientation, allowing us to identify subtle phenotypic signatures in human disease models. This approach supports studies of the neural and genetic basis of complex disorders and provides a foundation for future genetic and chemical suppressor screens.

Autobehaver recording platform

Selected publications

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Manuscript illustration: Tumor-Associated Macrophages Promote Brain Metastasis.
2026 / PREPRINT

69. Tumor-Associated Macrophages Promote Brain Metastasis.

Khan C*, NM Rusan* .

bioRxiv · 2026 · Preprint

* co-corresponding authors

Manuscript illustration: Autobehaver: An AI-Based Pipeline for Animal Behavior Analysis.
2026 / PREPRINT

68. Autobehaver: An AI-Based Pipeline for Animal Behavior Analysis.

O’Neill RS*, Aviles S, NM Rusan* .

bioRxiv · 2026 · Preprint

* co-corresponding authors

Manuscript illustration: A MOPD II-associated Pericentrin variant disrupts PACT domain dimerization and pericentriolar material recruitment.
2026 / PREPRINT

70. A MOPD II-associated Pericentrin variant disrupts PACT domain dimerization and pericentriolar material recruitment.

Thomas MS#, Galletta BJ #, Ryniawec JM, Amoiroglou A, Khan C , Fagerstrom CJ , Rogers GC, NM Rusan .

bioRxiv · Preprint

# co-first authors

Manuscript illustration: Using Drosophila to Uncover the Role of Organismal Physiology and the Tumor-Microenvironment in Cancer
2024

54. Using Drosophila to Uncover the Role of Organismal Physiology and the Tumor-Microenvironment in Cancer

Khan C* and Rusan NM *

Trends Cancer · 2024; 10(4): 289-311

(* co-corresponding)

★ Featured article · Trends in Cancer

Manuscript illustration: Host autophagy mediates organ wasting and nutrient mobilization for tumor growth
2021

48. Host autophagy mediates organ wasting and nutrient mobilization for tumor growth

Khezri R, Holland P, Schoborg TA, Abramovich I, Takáts S, Dillard C, Jain A, O'Farrell F, Schultz SW, Hagopian WM, Quintana EM, Ng R, Katheder NS, Rahman MM, Teles Reis JG, Brech A, Jasper H, Rusan NM , Jahren AH, Gottlieb E, Rusten TE

EMBO J · 2021; 40(18): e107336

★ Selected for Cover ↗

Science in 90 seconds

A new way into our science.

We’re preparing short, accessible science stories for our publications. Reviewed video and audio will appear here as they become available.

Explore the papers ↗