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High-probability grants
According to our matching algorithm, Sara M. Wasserman is the likely recipient of the following grants.
Years |
Recipients |
Code |
Title / Keywords |
Matching score |
2007 — 2009 |
Wasserman, Sara M |
F31Activity Code Description: To provide predoctoral individuals with supervised research training in specified health and health-related areas leading toward the research degree (e.g., Ph.D.). |
The Molecular and Physiological Basis of Thermosensory Behavior in C. Elegans
[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Organisms utilize a variety of senses to judge the nature of their environment. These external cues influence internal pathways resulting in altered behavioral output and development. This application aims to elucidate thermosensory behaviors of C. elegans from gene to behavioral output, in order to better understand mechanisms of sensory signal transduction and plasticity. C. elegans senses temperature and creates a 'memory' of this temperature, which in turn dictates the navigation behavioral strategy on spatial or temporal thermal gradients. This thermal memory is plastic and can be reset upon exposure to a new temperature. In order to better understand this sensory modality and sensory plasticity in general, newly developed quantitative behavioral assays will be utilized to identify the contribution of candidate molecules, thereby outlining the underlying genetic and biochemical pathways responsible for thermosensory behavior. Calcium imaging will also be utilized in order to define where in the molecular pathway these candidate molecules function. Finally, subcellular localization of the candidate proteins will be observed in response to different temperature stimuli to gain a better understanding of where in the cell the protein acts to mediate the appropriate behavior. The combination of these approaches will provide the first comprehensive analysis of conserved molecules involved in defined aspects of thermosensation and plasticity. Multiple disorders such as retinal degeneration and inability to sense pain result from defects in sensory signaling pathways. While much is known about visual and chemosensory signal transduction in vertebrates and invertebrates, thermosensation remains poorly characterized. Exploring thermosensation in C. elegans will identify the functions of sensory molecules likely conserved in sensory signal transduction in multiple organisms. C. elegans also demonstrates long-term plasticity in its thermosensory response. Irregularities in neuronal plasticity have been linked to a number of human disorders, including drug addiction, neuronal degeneration, and epilepsy. Studying neuronal plasticity via the thermosensory behavior of C. elegans will reveal conserved molecules and mechanisms involved in nervous systems of higher order organisms. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]
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1 |
2020 — 2024 |
Wasserman, Sara |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Rui: State-Dependent Modulation of Visuomotor Reflexes Across Drosophila Species
From the moment we wake up in the morning until the moment we fall asleep we are constantly barraged with sensory stimuli. The buzzing of the alarm, the dinging of email alerts, yet somehow, we identify the salient sensory stimuli and ignore the rest in order to generate an appropriate behavioral response each moment. Which stimuli we identify to be salient could depend on additional factors such as our external and internal environments. The overall goal of this project is to explore how the brain integrates our internal and external environment to modify the perception of visual cues to promote survival in different habitats. Specifically, this proposal will examine the contributions of anatomical and neural circuit changes in guiding visually evoked behaviors in Drosophila species living in distinct ecological habitats. The proposed work will support the training of undergraduates at Wellesley College, an all-women?s institution. Students will be actively involved in all aspects of experimental design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation. Wellesley?s student body is geographically, culturally, and economically diverse and all efforts will be made to involve members of underrepresented groups. Experiments outlined in this proposal will be carried out by undergraduate research students both in the lab as well as integrated into an upper-level elective course. Findings from this work will be shared at scientific meetings as well as with high school students and elementary and secondary school teachers.
How can an organism survive in ever-changing environmental conditions? They must be able to generate adaptive behavior by applying flexibility as they: (1) discriminate salient sensory signals from background, (2) assign value ? attractive or aversive ? to such stimuli and (3) integrate these stimuli with the current environmental context and internal physiological state. While inroads have been made in understanding the processes of discrimination and assigning value, much remains unknown about where and how short-term (hours timescale) changes in internal state are integrated to drive contextually appropriate behavior. Work across organisms has investigated how internal state modulates perception of odor, pheromone, temperature, and water, however, little work has examined how internal state differentially modulates the perception of visual stimuli of organisms from environments with distinct visual ecologies (forest and desert) that may have imposed very different evolutionary pressures. The goal of this proposal is to examine the contributions of anatomical and neural circuit changes in guiding visually evoked behaviors in Drosophila species living in distinct ecological habitats. These experiments will elucidate the impact of ecological habitats on the generation of state-dependent behavior and neuromodulatory circuits in order to understand how behavioral responses and the neural circuits involved may have been altered by differential evolutionary pressures. The project will utilize a multifaceted approach: (1) genetic manipulation to allow control over specific neural pathways, (2) visual and olfactory ?virtual-reality? flight simulators to measure sensory motor integration that drives adaptive behavior, and (3) in-vivo two photon calcium imaging as an indicator of neural activity.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.915 |