Faculty by Research Area

Associate Professor of Biology
Shanklin Laboratory 211
860-685-3197

Associate Professor, Neuroscience & Behavior
860-685-3197

gaaron@wesleyan.edu

BA Oberlin College
PHD University of Pennsylvania

Personal Web Site:
http://gaaron.faculty.wesleyan.edu/

Professor of Biology
Shanklin Laboratory 316
860-685-3489

Professor, Neuroscience & Behavior
860-685-3489

dbodznick@wesleyan.edu

BS University of Illinois Urbana
MAA Wesleyan University
PHD University of Washington

Personal Web Site:
http://dbodznick.faculty.wesleyan.edu/

Scholarly Keywords:
Neuroethology, sensory information processing in vertebrate brains.

Professor of Biology
Shanklin Laboratory 306
860-685-3461

Professor, Neuroscience & Behavior
860-685-3461

sdevoto@wesleyan.edu

BA Haverford College
PHD Rockefeller University
DU

Personal Web Site:
http://sdevoto.web.wesleyan.edu/

Scholarly Keywords:

Muscle Fiber Type Development, Muscle Growth, Somite Patterning, myogenic stem cells, zebrafish

Lab URL:
http://sdevoto.web.wesleyan.edu/

Professor of Biology
Shanklin Laboratory 409
860-685-3494

Professor, Neuroscience & Behavior
860-685-3494

jrkirn@wesleyan.edu

BA University of Denver
MA Bucknell University
PHD Cornell University

Personal Web Site:
http://jrkirn.faculty.wesleyan.edu/

Research Interests:

I'm interested in how the brain acquires and stores information. I am pursuing these interests by studying song learning and song maintenance in birds, who constantly replace neurons throughout life. Two basic questions of interest are (1) is neuronal replacement related to song learning, and (2) How can the brain preserve information when neurons are constantly being replaced?

Scholarly Keywords:

Animal Behavior, Learning and Memory, Neuroethology, Neuroendocrinology

Grants:

NIH RO1, 2004-09 (P.I.: Kirn; $880,000 Direct Costs) "Avian vocal experience and adult neuron replacement".

Lab URL:
http://jrkirn.faculty.wesleyan.edu/

Publications:
http://jrkirn.faculty.wesleyan.edu/selected-publications/

Professor of Biology
Hall-Atwater Laboratories 254
860-685-3232

Director, Center for Faculty Career Development

Professor, Neuroscience & Behavior
860-685-3232

jnaegele@wesleyan.edu

BA Mount Holyoke College
PHD Massachusetts Institute Techno

Personal Web Site:
http://naegelelab.research.wesleyan.edu/

Research Interests:

Deficits in GABAergic interneuron populations have been found to underly a number of neuropsychiatric disorders as well as epilepsy. In our research, we study the origins and functions of forebrain interneurons in rodent models of Fragile X syndrome and epilepsy. We are also investigating GABAergic interneuron replacement in temporal lobe epilepsy using different stem cell sources - fetal telencephalon and mouse and human embryonic stem cells. We have discovered that GABAergic progenitor grafts suppress spontaneous seizures for extended periods of time in the rodent brain. We have also demonstrated long-term survival, migration, and integration of ES cell-derived neurons in the adult hippocampus. The questions we are now pursuing are: 1) what are the molecular mechanisms regulating functional integration GABAergic interneuros; 2) what are the major differences in neural repair capacity of GABAergic neural progenitors derived from ES cells vs. fetal brain for treating temporal lobe epilepsy?

Scholarly Keywords:

Neural stem cells, mouse models of epilepsy, electroencephalography (EEG recordings), immunohistochemistry, neurodegeneration, apoptosis, gene expression, synapse formation, adult neurogenesis

Academic Associations:

International Society for Stem Cell Research; Society for Neuroscience; AAAS American Epilepsy Society; American Epilepsy Society

Grants:

Connecticut Stem Cell Initiative

Lab URL:
http://naegelelab.research.wesleyan.edu/

Publications:
http://naegelelab.research.wesleyan.edu/publications/

Editorial Boards:

Epilepsy CurrentsFrontiers in NeurogenesisBrain and Development

Board Memberships:

Epilepsy Foundation of Connecicut