Erin Barnhart, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences

Columbia University

Organelle dynamics and neuronal form and function

Neurons are cells: dynamic, self-organizing systems in which constituent elements (e.g. organelles like mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum) turn over on time scales substantially shorter than the lifetime of the cell. In my group, we aim to understand, first, how neurons maintain mitochondrial homeostasis; second, how deficits in mitochondrial homeostasis affect neuronal form and function; and third, how mitochondria and the ER tune specific neuronal computations. In this talk, I will describe our efforts to develop a quantitative, comprehensive model linking mitochondrial homeostasis to neuronal morphology. In our recent work, we combined mathematical modeling with in vivo measurements of dendrite architecture, mitochondrial motility, and mitochondrial localization patterns in Drosophila HS (horizontal system) neurons. Our results demonstrate that steady-state mitochondrial distributions are, in effect, hard-wired by the architecture of the neuron. I will also discuss how deficits in mitochondrial dynamics — motility, fission, and fusion — affect HS dendrite development and function in the adult.

Host(s): Carol Mason (Faculty) 

Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

This event will be in-person only and will not offer a Zoom option.
Open only to Columbia University and Columbia University Affiliates.
Speaker Location: Jerome L. Greene Science Center, 9th Floor Lecture Hall

Tuesdays@10 is a signature Zuckerman Institute initiative that aims to expose researchers at all levels to high-quality science and stimulate scientific discourse. The speakers featured in this series represent various fields and techniques in neuroscience, and are either external to Columbia (Columbia Neuroscience Seminars and Special Seminars) or are Columbia faculty members (Local Circuits) invited through a combined, collaborative effort of one or more of the following: Columbia's Zuckerman Institute, the Department of Neuroscience, the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior and the Columbia Translational Neuroscience Initiative, and with support from the Kavli Institute for Brain Science. 

More information and a full schedule can be found here.