{"664686":{"#nid":"664686","#data":{"type":"event","title":"The School of Biological Sciences Spring 2023 Seminar Series presents Dr. Nathan McDonald","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENathan McDonald, Ph.D.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPostdoctoral Scholar\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKang Shen\u0026rsquo;s Lab, Stanford University\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELive via Zoom\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EABSTRACT\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENeurons are highly specialized cells that face unique biological challenges to build our brains and nervous systems. To support rapid communication, neurons connect through synapses: specialized, asymmetric junctions capable of extremely fast signal transfer. Fundamentally, it is the location and properties of synapses that define the function of neural circuits and nervous systems. My research aims to determine molecularly how neurons build their synapses.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI have found that phase separation of core presynaptic scaffold molecules is a key mechanism in synapse formation. Biological phase separation is a phenomenon where proteins demix from the cytoplasm into dense, but fluid, condensates \u0026ndash; a mechanism useful for concentrating and compartmentalizing cytoplasmic components. I found core active zone scaffold proteins, including SYD-2\/Liprin-\u0026alpha;, were capable of phase separation \u003Cem\u003Ein vitro\u003C\/em\u003E and \u003Cem\u003Ein vivo\u003C\/em\u003E at nascent synapses. Mutations that blocked phase separation resulted in defective synapse assembly and synaptic transmission, indicating phase separation is critical for synaptic development and function. Crucially, I found the defects were rescued when a phase separation motif from an unrelated protein was reintroduced into mutant SYD-2. Finally, I found presynaptic phase separation is activated through phosphorylation by the SAD-1 kinase, which relieves an autoinhibitory interaction within SYD-2. Together these results provide \u003Cem\u003Ein vivo\u003C\/em\u003E evidence that presynapses form through phase separation during development and indicate that condensate formation is a central assembly hub for synapse formation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHost: Dr. Patrick McGrath\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Neuronal synapse formation through phase separation\u0022 and I\u0027m happy to present in person."}],"uid":"36416","created_gmt":"2023-01-12 16:42:00","changed_gmt":"2023-01-12 18:24:56","author":"fsteward3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2023-01-17T11:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2023-01-17T12:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2023-01-17T12:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2023-01-17 16:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2023-01-17 17:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2023-01-17 17:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"664687":{"id":"664687","type":"image","title":"Nathan McDonald","body":null,"created":"1673542087","gmt_created":"2023-01-12 16:48:07","changed":"1673544370","gmt_changed":"2023-01-12 17:26:10","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251470","name":"Nathan McDonald.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Nathan%20McDonald.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Nathan%20McDonald.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":729798,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Nathan%20McDonald.jpg?itok=d9Nz8XjT"}}},"media_ids":["664687"],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}