Project: DEVOTHAL – Molecular Drivers of the Evolutionary Divergence of the Amniote Thalamus A central challenge in evolutionary neuroscience is understanding how new neuronal types and brain nuclei arise. The thalamus, a hub for sensory and integrative functions, has undergone major diversification during vertebrate evolution, yet its general developmental principles remain poorly understood outside mammals. We seek to uncover the divergences that led to the formation of new cell types, nuclei and structures of the amniote thalamus. The DEVOTHAL project combines advanced methodologies—single-cell RNA sequencing, in situ sequencing, connectivity mapping, and comparative neuroanatomy—to investigate conserved and divergent mechanisms shaping thalamic development in birds and reptiles. The PhD candidate will focus on the bioinformatic analysis of transcriptomic data (scRNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics) to build the first atlas of thalamic cell types in non-mammalian amniotes, integrating these with developmental timing and connectivity datasets. This research will address fundamental questions in evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo) and provide novel insights into how conserved developmental rules and lineage-specific innovations shaped vertebrate brain evolution.