Welcome to Toyooka Lab – Autism Translational Research
******* Attention *******
We are seeking lab members.
If you are interested in our research project, feel free to contact me (Kazuhito Toyooka at Contact Form or [email protected]).
Thank you for visiting the website of the Toyooka Lab at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.
Our team studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying healthy cortical development. Current research focuses on identifying genes involved in neuronal morphogenesis, including neurite and spine formation and neural connectivity, as well as the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 17p13.3 deletion/duplication syndromes.
We have used an array of techniques to achieve this goal. A few examples are in utero electroporation, time-lapse live imaging of culture neurons and on brain slices, mouse genetic approaches including transgenic and knockout mice, GRAPHIC technique for neural connectivity, FingR technique for synapse formation, as well as calcium imaging.
Recent Updates
9/1/2023: We are pleased to welcome Sara Shigambayeva, an undergraduate student at Drexel, to our lab.
8/31/2023: Undergrad lab member & STAR Scholar, Carrie Gordon, presented a poster at the Drexel STAR Scholars Summer Showcase.
8/31/2023: Undergrad lab member & STAR Scholar, Bijaya Manandhar, presented a poster at the Drexel STAR Scholars Summer Showcase. She worked at Dr. Elefant Lab, Biology Department, as a STAR Scholar.
8/30/2023: A welcome dinner for Bijaya Manandhar, Carrie Gordon, Jiwoo Lee, and Cameron Anderson. Photos were uploaded to the Team.
8/24/2023: We went to a farewell dinner for Xiaonan Liu, a graduate student. Photos were uploaded.
8/17/2023: We are pleased to welcome Cameron Anderson, PhD candidate in the Neuroscience program, to our lab.
8/14/2023: We are pleased to welcome Jiwoo Lee, a high school student intern, to our lab.
7/28/2022: A graduate student, Xiaonan Liu, in my lab successfully finished her thesis defense.
Publications
Sarah A. Bennison, Sara M. Blazejewski, Xiaonan Liu, Gal Hacohen-Kleiman, Shlomo Sragovich, Sofia Zoidou, Olga Touloumi, Nikolaos Grigoriadis, Illana Gozes, Kazuhito Toyo-oka
Molecular Psychiatry, Published: Jan 11, 2023
KIFC1 regulates the trajectory of neuronal migration.
H. Muralidharan, Shrobona Guha, Kiran Madugula, Ankita Patil, Sarah A. Bennison, Xiaohuan Sun, K. Toyo-oka, P. Baas
Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 42(11), 2022, pp. 2149-2165
Megan R. Radler, Xiaonan Liu, Megan Peng, Brenna Doyle, Kazuhito Toyo-Oka, Elias T. Spiliotis
Current Biology, 2022, In Press
Nuak kinase signaling in development and disease of the central nervous system
Sarah A. Bennison, Xiaonan Liu, Kazuhito Toyo-oka
Cellular Signaling, 2022, In Press
Sara M. Blazejewski, Sarah A. Bennison, Ngoc T. Ha, Xiaonan Liu, Trevor H. Smith, K. Dougherty, K. Toyo-oka
Cerebral cortex, vol. 32(4), 2022, pp. 770-795
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