CAREER: Sensory Map Formation in the Nervous System of C. elegans

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester MA

Investigators

Abstract

Sensory systems often map spatial information from the external world onto the brain in an orderly way. For example, in the visual system, cells in the retina that receive input from adjacent positions in the visual field make connections at adjacent positions in the brain. This project proposes studying the formation of a simple topographic sensory map in the nervous system of the nematode C. elegans. The overall goal of the laboratory is to use genetic and molecular methods to understand the formation of this simple map, and then to apply this knowledge to more complex vertebrate systems. Previous studies have identified two genes, dig-1 and mig-10, that have functions required for the correct formation of the C. elegans sensory map. Specific goals of the current project include studying these genes at the molecular level, in order to understand which cells express them and how they function in sensory map formation, and using genetic methods to identify other genes that interact with dig-1 and mig-10 in sensory map formation. The educational goal of this project is to teach students to think and work as scientists. Students are taught to read and analyze papers from the scientific literature. They learn to design, perform, and interpret experiments, and to communicate their results at weekly lab meetings throughout the year; graduate students also present their ongoing research at a seminar series on the WPI campus. Ultimately, students write up their results in standard scientific format, and present them orally, either on campus or at appropriate scientific meetings.