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smith lab

 

Understanding molecular mechanisms of motor neuron development & disease

(C. elegans) Top: Pan-neuronal reporter; Bottom: NeuroPAL
(hESC-derived MNs) Magenta: CHAT; Green: TUJ1; Blue: DAPI

A dual model system approach to study motor neurons

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C. elegans

Accessible to -omics
Behavioral (i.e. locomotion) assays
CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering
Gene discovery tool
Simple invertebrate

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Human ESC-derived MNs

Accessible to -omics
CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering Functional (e.g. viability) assays
Human context
MN differentiation

Check out our recent work

Structure-Function study of Tol-1/Lat-1 interactions

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology

June 2025

screenshot 2025 09 05 at 9.14.31 am
Collaborative paper with the E. Ozkan and D. Arac labs at UChicago
screenshot 2025 09 17 at 3.21.35 pm
Graphical abstract
screenshot 2025 09 17 at 3.31.12 pm
Cover image submission
Review of Hox genes in C. elegans nervous system

Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology

Dec. 2022

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