Prof. Sengupta and Undergraduate Researcher Sarah Henry Publish in Scientific Journal

Saheli Sengupta, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, co-authored a peer-reviewed research article published in Scientific Reports (Vol. 16, 2026). The study examines the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying aggression and courtship in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) using advanced, high-resolution imaging and large-scale behavioral analysis. The work introduces a novel experimental framework for linking neural circuit activity to complex social behaviors, contributing new insights to the field of behavioral neuroscience.

Monmouth undergraduate researcher Sarah A. Henry is a co-author on the publication and made significant intellectual contribution to the project. She conducted analyses of neural activation patterns using FIJI, an open-source imaging software, to identify specific neurons in the fruit fly brain that, when activated, trigger courtship behavior. Her findings were an important contribution to the study's overall conclusions.

According to Sengupta, the publication highlights the biology department's commitment to faculty-mentored undergraduate research and demonstrates how Monmouth students are actively engaged in producing publishable, high-impact scientific work. It further reflects Monmouth University's mission to integrate research and education by providing undergraduates with meaningful opportunities to participate in all stages of the scientific discovery process, from data analysis to peer-reviewed publication, she said.

The full study, published in Scientific Reports, is available online.

From left: Prof. Saheli Sengupta, and undergraduate researchers Aiswarya L. Raghavaraju, and Sarah Henry.