Anand Chandrasekhar , PhD
- Professor Biological Sciences
Research
- Accepting new advisees Is accepting new doctoral advisees
Areas of expertise
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
Research Summary
During nervous system development in vertebrates, newborn neurons migrate extensively to precise locations where they participate in assembling circuits that control behaviors and functions essential for health and survival. Defective migration of neurons in different brain regions is associated with neuronal migration disorders that can lead to epilepsy and cognitive and motor deficits. The Chandrasekhar Lab studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal migration and the behavioral consequences of defective migration.
The migration of facial branchiomotor (FBM) neurons is an excellent model system to investigate neuronal migration mechanisms. The Chandrasekhar Lab identified the first gene necessary for FBM neuron migration. They use zebrafish and mouse models to dissect these mechanisms using genetic, biochemical and imaging approaches. While a large number of genes, including several functioning the Wnt/Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) signaling pathway, are required for FBM neuron migration, their mechanisms of action have remained largely obscure, in part because they may be independent of PCP signaling. Their work provided insights into the roles of two Wnt/PCP-associated transmembrane proteins, Vangl2 and Celsr1, in regulating the initiation and direction of FBM neuron migration in the zebrafish and mouse hindbrain.