Alexis Gambis

Alexis Gambis is an freelance filmmaker and a scientist. He was born in Paris, France, where he began as a teenager to cultivate interests in both science and film. His recent documentary film “A Fruit Fly in New York” explores the connections between fruit flies, science and creativity. His work focuses on enhancing public understanding on scientific issues, challenging existing stereotypes about science+scientists and generating visually exciting science stories using visual media. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bard College and a certificate in Digital Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy. He is now a 4th year PhD graduate student at the Rockefeller University in New York.

Currently, his thesis work focuses on the mechanisms of cancer and neurodegeneration. He uses the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and specifically the fruit fly “eye” as model to understand human neurodegenerative diseases. He uses fluorescent proteins to visualize neurons in the fly eye and studies how these neurons resist or degenerate under stress conditions. His scientific research relies heavily on fluorescent imagery.

Concomitantly to his graduate work, Alexis Gambis is also the head coordinator of the Rockefeller University Film Series, an organization that promotes science and media events on campus. Recently, Alexis launched a science-film initiative as part of the film series, which aims to get Rockefeller scientists to express themselves about their work/research using digital media. A Portrait of A Scientist initiative at the Rockefeller University during which scientists talk on camera about their lives in and out of the lab is in the shooting phase.

ID Team

Daniel Wohl - Music Composer
Tany - Artistic Designer
Francois Rejete - Technical Consultant