Building neurons and circuits
Dendrites and axons show extraordinarily diverse forms and modes of patterning, with important implications for nervous system wiring and neuronal function. Our lab is interested in how neurons acquire their type-specific morphology and organization and how this organization underlies circuit function. To approach this problem, we use molecular, genetic, anatomical, and behavioral approaches to identify the mechanisms that sculpt somatosensory circuits during development.
Cell-cell interactions in dendrite development
How are dendritic territories established? How do cell-cell interactions determine where and how dendrites receive sensory or synaptic input? What are the cellular and molecular mechanisms of tiling and self-avoidance?
Assembly of somatosensory circuitry
How is somatosensory information represented in the central nervous system? What are the developmental mechanisms that generate somatosensory axon maps?
Mechanisms of nervous system structural and functional maintenance during aging
How do neurons and circuits change at the molecular, structural, and functional levels as an organism ages?
Generation of a versatile Gal4 resource for developmental and functional studies of the fly nervous system
In collaboration with the Clandinin lab (Stanford University) we are generating and annotating expression patterns of a large collection of InSITE Gal4, lexA, and QF lines.