Eye-specific segregation is a model for investigating
mechanisms of activity-dependent neural circuit development.
We use advanced molecular and imaging techniques to study synaptic refinement in the developing visual system.
Local protein synthesis
We are using nucleotide tagging and translating ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) approaches to isolate mRNA from retinal ganglion cell axons. These experiments enable the investigation of activity-dependent mechanisms regulating mRNA trafficking and local protein synthesis in the developing brain.
synaptic Proteome plasticity
We are exploring enzymatic proximity labeling approaches based on APEX, HRP, and BioID for tagging local proteins in targeted retinofugal pathways. These experiments will help us determine a “part list” of developing visual circuit proteomes during normal development for comparison to activity-dependent defects.
subsynaptic organization
We use volumetric single-molecule localization microscopy and expansion microscopy to image synaptic connections in visual circuits with nanoscale spatial resolution. Our imaging experiments identify subsynaptic changes in protein and RNA organization within developing synapses across large tissue volumes.
