Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

We use many interfaces to communicate with each other including phone, text, and email. These informational networks are critical in our ability to relay information to share, delegate, and/or work cooperatively. Problems arise when these messages are unable to send, or messages are scrambled due to infrastructure or service issues. The nervous system mainly uses one mode of communication via a specialized interface known as the synapse. While the structural and functional components of this neuronal interface have been well characterized, it is still unclear how these neuronal interfaces are assembled properly. Communication issues in the nervous system due to the disruption of the neuronal interface often result in many neurological disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Currently, there are no effective therapeutics available for nearly all the neurological disorders: most of the promising preclinical therapeutic strategies have failed to be translated into humans. This strongly argues the importance in expanding our knowledge of the basic mechanisms of brain development and functions, which is the first step towards understanding how their malfunctioning leads to various neurological disorders. Using the roundworm as a model organism, I will examine how the neuronal interface is assembled properly and dissect the underlying mechanisms of the assembly process. Using state-of-the-art microscopy techniques, I can determine if the structural or functional components of the neuronal interface is disturbed in disease associated mutations. The results of this project will provide the foundation for doctors and other scientists who use mammalian models to study neurological diseases.