Dr. Mei Zhen — The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute

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Dr. Mei Zhen
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR

When neurons form synapses to communicate with each other, the wiring for our sensory, motor, and cognitive experience is formed. Dr. Mei Zhen is studying how synapses form in the nervous system – the wiring of the brain that makes us who we are. Her goal is a breakthrough in understanding brain development, synapse formation, and how to treat the brain when it’s diseased or damaged.

Dr. Zhen’s research has implications for a vast range of diseases including psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, depression and bi-polar disorder, neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, and genetic disorders related to development of the nervous system.
To date, the biochemical mechanisms responsible for synapse formation are still not well understood, in large part because of the size and complexity of the nervous system. In order to study synapse formation Dr. Zhen uses an innovative research model – a small roundworm called C. elegans – that has fewer than ten thousand synapses compared to the estimated 1014 to 1015 (that’s a quadrillion) synapses in the adult human brain.

Dr. Zhen has shown that, in spite of the vast difference in complexity, the human and C. elegans are likely to use similar sets of genes to make synapses. Her innovative approach has provided much more information than earlier methods of studying synapses, which called for a labour-intensive preparation of animal samples to be studied with an electron microscope.

Dr. Zhen’s lab is at the forefront of building a knowledge base of the human brain in health and disease – an important tool for the field of neurobiology.

Samuel Lunenfeld
Research Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Health Complex
600 University Avenue
Toronto Ontario M5G 1X5

Tel: 416-586-4800 ext.1592
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Jul 15, 2009 05:30 PM

At a Glance

Investigates development of synapses in the central nervous system
Holds a Canada Research Chair in Brain and Behaviour; the Lawrence and Judy Tanenbaum Research Chair in Developmental Neuroscience
Uses a small worm called C. elegans to study genes responsible for psychiatric disorders
Identified a number of new genes involved in the development of synapses (the connections between neurons) and found a channel molecule that may lead to the development of new and effective drugs for mental illnesses

Major Research Activities

Dr. Zhen´s laboratory investigates how neurons establish synaptic connectivitites during development. The focus is on dissecting the molecular compoents of syd-2 and sad-1 signaling pathways using C. elegans as a model system. The lab has developed a number of fluorescent GFP/YFP/CFP markers which allows direct visualization of different synaptic structures in live C. elegans.

Recent Publications

Calarco, J. A., Superina, S.,O’Hanlon, D., Skalska, U., Gabut, M., Pan, Q., Raj, B., Clarke, L., Gelinas, D., van der Kooy, D., Zhen, M., Ciruna, B., Blencowe, B. G. (2009) A neural-specific SR protein activator of alternative splicing Cell (in press).

Yeh E, Kawano T, Ng S, Fetter R, Hung W, Wang Y, Zhen M. (2009) Caenorhabditis elegans innexins regulate active zone differentiation. Journal of Neuroscience 29(16):5207-17.

Liewald, J. F., Brauner, M., Stephens, G. J., Magali Bouhours, Schultheis C., Mei Zhen, Gottschalk, A. (2008) Optogenetic analysis of synaptic function by behavioural and electrophysiological parameteterization in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature Method 5(10):895-902 (E-pub ahead of print).

Kim, J.S.M., Lilley, B.N., Zhang, C., Shokat, K.M., Sanes, J.R., Zhen, M. (2008) A chemical-genetic strategy reveals distinct temporal requirements for SAD-1 kinase in neuronal polarization and synapse formation. Neural Development 3(1):23.

► Lunenfeld Research Repository

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