Dr. Jeff Lichtman

Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Harvard University
MCB, Sherman Fairchild Bldg., Room 155
7 Divinity Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
Telephone: 617 496-8943
Fax: 617-496-9590
Email: jeff@mcb.harvard.edu
Lab website: The Lichtman Lab
Predocs: 3 Postdocs: 7 Completed PhD's: 8

We are interested in the mechanics that underlie synaptic competition between neurons that innervate the same target cell. Such competitive interactions are responsible for sharpening the patterns of neural connections during development and may also be important in learning and memory formation. The laboratory studies synaptic competition by visualizing synaptic rearrangements directly in living animal using modern optical imaging techniques. We have concentrated on neuromuscular junctions in a very accessible neck muscle in mice where new transgenic animals and other labeling strategies allow individual nerve terminals and postsynaptic specializations to be monitored over hours or months. In addition, the lab has developed several new methods to improve our ability to resolve synaptic structure.

References:

• Buffelli M, Burgess RW, Feng G, Lobe C, Lichtman JW, Sanes JR (2003) Genetic evidence that relative synaptic efficacy biases the outcome of synaptic competition. Nature 424:430-4.
• Livet J, Weissman TA, Kang H, Draft RW, Lu J, Bennis RA, Sanes JR, Lichtman JW.  Transgenic strategies for combinatorial expression of fluorescent proteins in the nervous system.  Nature. 2007 Nov 1;450(7166):56-62.
• McCann CM, Nguyen QT, Santo Neto H, Lichtman JW.  Rapid synapse elimination after postsynaptic protein synthesis inhibition in vivo.  J Neurosci. 2007 May 30;27(22):6064-7.
• Schubert T, Kerschensteiner D, Eggers ED, Misgeld T, Kerschensteiner M, Lichtman JW, Lukasiewicz PD, Wong RO.  Development of presynaptic inhibition onto retinal bipolar cell axon terminals is subclass-specific.  J Neurophysiol. 2008 Jul;100(1):304-16. Epub 2008 Apr 24.