Research in the Collins Lab focuses on the structural plasticity of neurons

The ability to form new or dissolve old synaptic contacts is a fundamental property of neurons and the nervous system. This 'plasticity' underlies development, learning and memory, and adaptation to external stimuli such as to stress and injury.

The Collins lab is interested in the cellular mechanisms that neurons use to alter synaptic structure in response to environmental and developmental cues. Of particular interest is the cell biology of signaling within axons, which connect neurons to distant parts of the brain and body. How do signals traverse the long distance in axons from the synapse to the nucleus? And how do neurons interpret the signals in order to change specific aspects of their axonal or dendritic processes?

To address these questions, we are taking advantage of the power of Drosophila genetics, and the simple anatomy motoneurons in the Drosophila larva. We are working with a newly discovered molecular pathway that regulates the structural arborization of the synaptic terminus. This pathway also influences axonal transport machinery, and we are currently exploring the connection between these roles. We are also exploring how this pathway regulates gene expression to change synaptic structure. Through this work we are generating tools for studying the cell biology of other signaling mechanisms in axons, and for understanding how gene expression can be regulated by synaptic signals.