Research Focus:

Developmental and adult synaptic plasticity, regulation of gene expression during nervous system development, cell signaling and signal transduction by the TGF-ß/BMP pathway in neurons.

During embryonic development cell division and differentiation result in the generation of a complex organism from a single cell, the fertilized egg. Development is under tight genetic control, and mutational analysis in model organisms has proved invaluable to our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms at the core of this process.

Of particular interest for both fundamental and practical implications is the development of the nervous system. Synapses are specialized structures that allow rapid, reliable communication between the innervating neuron and its target. After the synapse is established it undergoes a process of refinement that results in strengthening or weakening of particular synapses. This synaptic plasticity occurs both during development and in adult life, and is thought to underlie basic nervous systems processes such as learning and memory.

Synaptic plasticity during development requires bi-directional communication between the afferent neuron and the target cell, typically another neuron or a muscle. The signaling from target to neuron is known as retrograde signaling, and genetic analysis in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has shown that growth factors of the TGF-ß family are essential in this process. The projects in the laboratory center on the role of TGF-ß growth factors in developmental and activity-induced synaptic plasticity. The final goal is understanding molecularly how the efficiency of synaptic transmission is regulated, resulting in synapse potentiation or depression and the appropriate behavioral correlate. A combination of genetic, molecular and biochemical approaches are used to this end, and although the favored experimental model is the Drosophila larva neuromuscular junction, other organisms and experimental paradigms are currently being considered.

Lab Members:

Becky Smith, B.S., Graduate Student (Genetics)
Nam Chul Kim, B.S., M.S., Graduate Student (CMB)
Jim Machamer, B.S., Graduate Student (CMB)
Jessie Groom, B.S., Technician