David Lin
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology

Phone

607-253-4360

Address

Department of Biomedical Sciences
T2006A Veterinary Research Tower (VRT)
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-2703

Email

Web Sites

Background

The development of the nervous system involves a series of decisions and choices. How do neurons and glia, the two major cell-types in the brain, arise from uncommitted progenitor cells? Once neurons are formed, what guides their differentiation into specific neuronal sub-types? And finally, how do these neurons find and connect with their proper synaptic partners elsewhere in the brain? My lab studies these fundamental developmental questions using the mouse olfactory system as a model. We use genetic and genomic techniques as complementary approaches towards studying these questions. Our genetic analysis uses mouse mutants in various pathways to study their effects upon cell fate, differentiation, and axon guidance. Our genomic approaches include laser microdissection, single-cell RNA amplification, and microarrays. The lab also oversees the microarray Core facility for the campus. And finally, we use tissue culture to study the effects of manipulating levels of gene expression upon differentiation. Together, these approaches allow us to examine the molecular basis for the decisions that guide the formation of the nervous system.

Selected Publications

1. Williams, E., Xiao, Y., Sickles, H., Shafer, P., Yona, G., Yang, Y.H., and Lin, D.M. Spatial and temporal molecular heterogeneity in the developing mouse olfactory bulb. BMC Developmental Biology (2007) 7:48.
2. Moran-Mirabal, J., Tan, C.P., Orth, R., Williams, E., Craighead, H., and Lin, D.M. Controlling microarray spot morphology with lift-off polymer arrays. Analytical Chemistry (2007) 79(3):1109-14.
3. Lin, D.M., Loveall, B., Ewer, J., Deitcher, D.L., Sucher, N.J. Characterization of mRNA expression in single neurons. Methods in Molecular Biology, in press, ~Fall 2007.
4. Lin, D.M., Yang Y.H, Scolnick, J, Brunet, L, Peng, V, Okazaki, Y, Speed, T, and Ngai, J. (2004) A spatial map of gene expression in the olfactory bulb. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101(34):12718-23.