Overview
University of Konstanz, MSc, Biology
Harvard University/Ludwig Maximillian University, Ph.D., Neurobiology
Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, University College London
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University Center for Brain Sciences
The Naumann lab's goal is to understand how neural circuits across the entire brain guide behavior and how individuality manifests within these circuits. To dissect such circuits, we use the genetically accessible, translucent zebrafish to map, monitor, and manipulate neuronal activity. By combining whole-brain imaging, behavioral analysis, functional perturbations, neuroanatomy, we aim to generate brain-scale circuit models of simple behaviors in individual brains.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
·
2018 - Present
Neurobiology,
Basic Science Departments
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology
·
2022 - Present
Cell Biology,
Basic Science Departments
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
·
2024 - Present
Biomedical Engineering,
Pratt School of Engineering
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
·
2025 - Present
Psychology & Neuroscience,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2018 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center
·
2021 - Present
Duke Regeneration Center,
Basic Science Departments
Recent Publications
Energy efficiency and neural control of continuous versus intermittent swimming in a fishlike robot.
Journal Article Sci Robot · January 28, 2026 Many aquatic animals, including larval zebrafish, exhibit intermittent locomotion, moving via discrete swimming bouts followed by passive glides rather than continuous movement. However, fundamental questions remain unresolved: What neural mechanisms drive ... Full text Link to item CiteA tiny vertebrate reveals brain-scale network functions.
Journal Article Trends Neurosci · December 2025 In a recent article, Légaré and colleagues demonstrate that key mammalian brain network organizational features, which have been extensively mapped in human functional connectivity studies, are conserved in the tiny vertebrate brain of the larval zebrafish ... Full text Link to item CiteA software platform for real-time and adaptive neuroscience experiments.
Journal Article Nat Commun · November 11, 2025 Current neuroscience research is often limited to testing predetermined hypotheses and post hoc analysis of already collected data. Adaptive experimental designs, in which modeling drives ongoing data collection and selects experimental manipulations, offe ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Neurobiology Training Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke · 2024 - 2029Neural mechanisms of visuomotor transformations in larval zebrafish
FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Eye Institute · 2025 - 2028Functional connectivity of a brain-scale neural circuit for motion perception
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2027View All Grants
Education
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany) ·
2010
Ph.D.