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 Mammalian Brain Development
Bin Chen , Dept. MCD Biology
The cerebral cortex is the seat of our highest cognitive and perceptual function. It has been estimated that
there are hundreds of different neuronal cell types in the cerebral cortex. The proper generation of these different
neuronal types and the formation of their appropriate connections is essential for brain function. However, not much
is known about how genes regulate the generation of these different types of neurons and the connections between them.
Research in the Chen lab is aimed at identifying different transcription factors and signaling pathways critical
for the development of cerebral cortex. Using mouse as a model system and a combination of gene knockouts,
mis-expression experiments, neuronal tracings and cell culture experiments to explore these areas
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 The Generation of Neural Connections
David Feldheim , Dept. MCD Biology
Higher cognitive functions in mammals are dependent upon complex neural connections in the brain. The Feldheim laboratory examines the development of the primary visual system in the mouse brain to understand how such connections are generated.
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 How do Billions of Neurons and their Axons Know Where to Go?
Lindsay Hinck , Dept. MCD Biology
A functional nervous system requires an amazingly elaborate network of neuronal connections. A few secreted cues play an essential role in directing the construction of these networks. Professor Hinck's lab examines the regulation of such guidance cues and their receptors. One focus is on netrin-1, a bifunctional cue that either attracts neurons to a target or repels them away from a non-target zone. Neurons sense netrin-1 as either an attractant or a repellent depending upon which netrin-1 receptors are expressed on their surface. Recently, Hinck's group has examined a post-translational mechanism that allows navigating growth cones to adjust their sensitivity to netrin-1 by down-regulating the number of receptors expressed on the cell surface [More] |
 Axonal Transport and Neurodegeneration
Bill Saxton, Dept. MCD Biology
The Saxton lab studies mechanisms that drive intracellular transport and cytoplasmic organization, using Drosophila as a model system. To generate and maintain proper cytoplasmic order and complex functions, cells use microtubules and force-generating motor proteins to transport RNAs, proteins, and organelles to specific cytoplasmic destinations. Neurons are especially dependent on filament-based cytoplasmic transport, because their signaling functions rely on long cytoplasmic extensions (axons and dendrites) that require highly ordered components that are synthesized near the nucleus. Saxton's group has developed methods for high-speed confocal fluorescence microscopy and digital tracking of single axonal organelles in living Drosophila, and use classical genetics and molecular approaches to manipulate suspected components of transport machinery and watch the effects on organelle motion. Biochemical approaches are also used to test specific ideas about how those components work. A number of human neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS, are caused by mutations in genes that code for axonal transport motors and other cytoskeleton associated proteins.[More]
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 Glia-neuron Interaction and Structural Plasticity of the Synapse
Yi Zuo, Dept. of MCD Biology
Neurons communicate with each other at a specialized structure called the synapse. The Zuo lab focuses on how the interactions of two types of cells - glia and neurons - affect synapse formation and plasticity. Zuo studies are providing insight into the involvement of glia in learning and memory. Furthermore, because glial malfunctions are characteristic of many neurodegenerative diseases, her lab's results may also point us in the direction of potential treatments for neurological diseases. [More]
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 Remarkable Protein Structures... and Where They Go Wrong in Disease
Glenn Millhauser, Department of Chemistry
In the laboratory of Glenn Millhauser, investigators use peptide synthesis and magnetic resonance to investigate the structure and function of biomolecules. These studies include analysis of proteins, such as the prion protein, which is involved in the devastating neurological condition, Creutzfeld Jacob's Disease. [More]
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 The Molecular Basis of Protein Aggregation and Protein Deposition Diseases
Anthony Fink, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Professor Fink’s laboratory examines the molecular basis of protein aggregation and protein deposition diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease, and the development of effective therapies to treat these diseases. [More] |
 Organismal Responses and Therapeutic Treatment of Toxins
Don Smith, Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology
It is becoming clear that exposures to environmental toxins, such as lead, mercury, and arsenic can cause or contribute to the development of diseases in humans. For example, some neurobehavioral and neurodegenerative disorders, such as learning deficits and Parkinsonism have been linked to elevated lead and manganese exposures in children and manganese exposures in adults, respectively. The Smith lab explores basic mechanisms underlying how toxic metal exposures contributes to cellular effects and disease. [More]
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 A High Energy Physicist Turns His Attention to Neurobiology
Alan Litke, Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics
Alan Litke is physicist who is also interested in neurobiology. Several years ago, Litke began to utilize principles from his research on detection of particles in high-energy-physics collisions in order to develop electrode arrays that can be used to detect signals from the individual output neurons of live retinal tissue. Litke and neurobiologist E. J. Chichilnisky from the Salk Institute used this technology to discover a type of retinal cell that may help monkeys, apes, and humans see motion. Litke also collaborates with UCSC Professor David Feldheim and has recently begun using these detectors to investigate emergent properties in networks of hundreds of synaptically connected cortical neurons. [More] |
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