Name: Leslie P. Tolbert Degree(s): A.B. (Applied Mathematics) 1973, Ph.D. (Anatomy) 1978 Graduate School: Harvard University Undergraduate Institution: Radcliffe College/Harvard University Current Position/Univ.: Professor of Neurobiology, and Chair of the campus-wide Committee on Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ |
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Research Interest(s): My laboratory colleagues and I are interested in how
the brain develops, and specifically how cells, both neurons and the
non-neuronal cells called glial cells, instruct each others development.
We use an unusual experimental preparation, the metamorphosing nervous
system of a giant moth, to probe these issues. During the development of
the moth nervous system (which replaces the caterpillar nervous system
during metamorphosis), we can readily perturb particular cells and
particular molecular pathways to study their effects on the development of
the olfactory (smell) centers in the brain. In fact, we can do
experiments in a developing moth that cant be done in developing mammals.
Our studies have revealed a critical two-way conversation that occurs
between sensory neurons and glial cells as well as between glial cells and
neurons higher in the olfactory pathway. Given the cellular similarity
between insect olfactory systems and those of mammals, we expect that our
findings will provide special insights into mammalian development.
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