Dr. Ben Matthews was a graduate student in the Neurobiology and Behavior Program from 2005-2010. While he was in the lab Ben worked out the first molecular explanation for self-avoidance, or how processes from the same neuron recognize each other and avoid crossing. He showed that self-avoidance is under the control of the molecule Dscam1. Ben was an NRSA predoctoral fellow while in the lab. He then did a postdoc in Dr. Leslie Vosshall's lab at Rockefeller University working on mosquito genomics and egg laying behavior. Ben is now an assistant professor at University of British Columbia Department of Zoology.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Matthews B.J., Grueber W.B. Dscam1-mediated self-avoidance counters Netrin-dependent targeting of dendrites in Drosophila. Curr Biol. (2011) 21:1480-1487.
Hattori D., Chen Y., Matthews B.J., Salwinski L., Sabatti C., Grueber W.B., Zipursky S.L. Robust discrimination between self and non-self neurites requires thousands of Dscam1 isoforms. Nature (2009) 461:644-648.
Corty M.M., Matthews B.J., Grueber W.B. Molecules and mechanisms of dendrite development in Drosophila. Development (2009) 136:1049-1061.
Matthews B.J., Corty M.M., Grueber W.B. Of cartridges and columns: New roles for Cadherins in visual system development. Neuron (2008) 58:1-3.
Matthews B.J., Kim M.E., Flanagan J.J., Hattori D., Clemens J.C., Zipursky S.L., Grueber W.B. Dendrite self-avoidance is controlled by Dscam. Cell (2007) 129:593-604.