Yale Genetics

Our Department Faculty/Labs Graduate Program Medical Genetics Directory

Hammarlund, Marc

Assistant Professor of Genetics
Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair

 Assistant Professor of Genetics
• Member, Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair

• B.A. Swarthmore College, 1989
• Ph.D. Univeristy of Utah, 2003

• Riser Award
• Yale Scholar

Research Interests:

• Axon regeneration and degeneration
• Neuronal plasticity
• Femtosecond laser surgery
C. elegans neurobiology

How do neurons regenerate and degenerate? We study the genetics and cell biology of axon regeneration and degeneration using the model organism C. elegans. Our long-term goal is to understand and control axon plasticity at the molecular level.

Current Research

We study the genetics and cell biology of axon regeneration and degeneration using the model organism C. elegans. Axon plasticity in the nervous system can result from experience, injury, or disease. Changes in axon structure can profoundly affect the connectivity and function of the nervous system. How is axon plasticity regulated and executed?

In our laboratory we develop genetic tools to initiate and monitor axon regeneration and degeneration, two fundamental forms of axon plasticity. We use these tools to identify genes required for regeneration and degeneration. To analyze how these genes mediate the cell biology of regeneration and degeneration, we use laser surgery to sever individual axons. Because C. elegans is transparent and has a simple nervous system, we can observe regeneration and degeneration with single-cell resolution in vivo. Our long-term goal is to understand and control plasticity at the molecular level.

Contact Information:

Email: MarcHammarlund@yale.edu
Lab Website: http://elegans.yale.edu

Representative Publications

Hammarlund M, et al. “Axon Regeneration Requires a Conserved Map Kinase Pathway,” Science 323.5915 (2009): 802-06.
Hammarlund M, Jorgensen EM, Bastiani MJ. “Axons Break in Animals Lacking Beta-Spectrin,” J Cell Biol 176.3 (2007): 269-75.