Address:

Dana Science Center Room 347
Biology Department
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Telephone: (518) 580-5089

Fax: (518) 580-5071

E-mail: jbonner@skidmore.edu

Education and Professional Training:
University of New Hampshire, BA, Microbiology
University of British Columbia, PhD, Neuroscience
University of Utah, postdoctoral fellow

Courses Taught:
Biology 106- “Biological Sciences II”
Biology 247- “Cell Biology”
Neuroscience 101- “Introduction to Neuroscience”
Biology 385-“Methods in Molecular Biology and Genetics, Integrative Biology, and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior”
Biology 351M -“Neuroanatomy and Development”
Neuroscience 277 - “Integrative Seminar in Neuroscience”
Biology 342 - “Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience”

Research Interests:
The long-term goal of my research is to determine the genes that control nervous system connectivity. I am using zebrafish as a model system to address this question, and focusing on the spinal cord due to its relative simple structure and homology to higher vertebrates including humans. Several evolutionarily conserved classes of neurons are found in the zebrafish spinal cord, including commissural neurons, sensory neurons, and motoneurons. Commissural neurons connect the two halves of the nervous system and develop by responding to both attractive and repulsive signals, which allow them to cross the middle of the animal, called the midline. Sensory neurons project anterior and posterior in the spinal cord, while also projecting to the skin, elaborating extensive arbors. Finally, motoneuron cell bodies, positioned in the ventral spinal cord, project out of the spinal cord to the musculature. I am interested in the guidance cues that direct the pathfinding of these neuronal subtypes. To do this, I am using genetics, gene knockdown technology, and cell biology to study the mechanisms of neuron pathfinding and exploring potential novel roles for canonical guidance cues.

 

Confocal time series of GFP labeled spinal cord neurons as they project posteriorly in the zebrafish embryo. Two spinal tracts enter the field from the right (anterior) side of the spinal cord. Large GFP labeled ectodermal cells can also be seen migrating throughout the embryo. (click image for video)		Time-lapse confocal movie of GFP-labeled zebrafish motoneurons innervating the surrounding musculature. (click image for video)

Peer Reviewed Publications:
Gribble SL, Kim HS, Bonner J, Wang X, Dorsky RI. (2009) Tcf3 inhibits spinal cord neurogenesis by regulating sox4a expression. Development 136(5):781-9.

Bonner J, Gribble SL, Veien ES, Nikolaus OB, Weidinger G, Dorsky RI. (2008) Proliferation and patterning are mediated independently in the dorsal spinal cord downstream of canonical Wnt signaling. Development Biology 313(1):398-407.

Lewis JL, Bonner J, Modrell M, Ragland JW, Moon RT, Dorsky RI, and Raible DW. (2004) Reiterated Wnt signaling during zebrafish neural crest development. Development 131(6);1299-1308.

Bonner J, Gerrow KA, and O'Connor TP. (2003) The Ti1 pioneer pathway: An in vivo model for neuronal outgrowth and guidance. Methods in Cell Biology 71:171-193.

Bonner J, Auld VJ, and O'Connor TP. (2002) Migrating mesoderm establish a uniform distribution of laminin in the developing grasshopper embryo. Developmental Biology 249(1):57-73.

Bonner J and O'Connor TP. (2001) The permissive cue laminin is essential for growth cone turning in vivo . Journal of Neuroscience 21(24):9782-91.

Bonner J and O'Connor TP. (2000) Semaphorin function in the developing invertebrate peripheral nervous system. Biochemistry and Cell Biology 78(5): 603-611.

Recent Laboratory Students

Josh Brahen '09	Lisa Krug '09
Katie Slade '09	Ben Chadwick '10
Ali Cooper '10	Zach Knecht '11
Alek Krazinski '11	Michael Letko '11

Cecie Culp '11

Jake Sadle '11

Andrew Ross '12

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