Past Research
Post-doctoral Research:
Neuroendocrine Cells Drive Airway Protective Reflexes
Mentor: Dr. David Julius at UCSF
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NE cells exhibit distinct molecular and biophysical characteristics depending on their location along the airway with tracheal and laryngeal NE cells being especially excitable like a neuron
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NE cells in the trachea and larynx function as specialized sensory sentinels that detect aspiration-related threats (water and acid)
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These cells protect airways by releasing ATP to activate purinoceptive sensory neurons
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NE cell – neuron communication is necessary and sufficient for protective responses to acid and water
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NE cells likely work in concert with other epithelial cells to form a sensory surveillance systems
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This sensory-to-neural communication represents a critical nociceptive circuit for preventing aspiration and protecting the lungs
This work relied on my ability to perform diverse experimental techniques like transcriptomic profiling, patch clamp electrophysiology, imaging of calcium influx or transmitter release, nerve fiber recordings and behavioral assays.
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Laura F. Seeholzer* and David J. Julius* (2024) Neuroendocrine cells initiate protective upper airway reflexes. Science Apr 19; 384:295-301. PMID: 38669574 *co-corresponding authors
Graduate Research:
Evolution of Neural Circuitry Underlying Species-Specific Behaviors
Mentor: Dr. Vanessa Ruta at Rockefeller Univeristy
In my graduate training with Dr. Vanessa Ruta at Rockefeller University, I studied how neural circuits have changed during evolution to allow related Drosophila species to behave differently. I developed CRISPR methods to transfer the genetic toolkit of D. melanogaster into non-model Drosophila species in order to perform detailed comparison of neural circuitry across species. Surprisingly, I found that a change in a synapse of a central neural circuit allows two Drosophila species to interpret the same pheromone differently, resulting in a distinct behavioral response to an identical cue. My work provided fundamental insight into how circuit computation can underlie behavioral variability. I remain interested in understanding how sensory information is integrated in the brain by leveraging both model and non-model organisms.
Laura F. Seeholzer, Max Seppo, David Stern and Vanessa Ruta (2018) Evolution of a central neural circuit underlies Drosophila mate preferences. Nature 559: 564-569. PMID: 29995860