Christopher Deppmann

About

I have been interested in the mechanisms underlying long-distance signaling in the context of nervous system development since I was a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the laboratory of David Ginty (now at Harvard). This experience taught me to integrate my affinity for mechanistic experiments into a broad range of paradigms that examine physiological relevance. Indeed, this experience allowed me to pursue several different aspects of peripheral nervous system development including competition for survival (Science, 2008) and synapse formation/restriction (Neuron, 2010). I have come to appreciate the versatility of the peripheral nervous system for examining how cytokine signaling regulates development and disease. These experiences led me to consider in my own lab how antagonistic cytokine signaling governs nervous system construction and refinement. Indeed my group is actively pursuing the molecular basis for long-distance neurotrophic construction signaling (Nat. Neuro, 2014; J. Neuro, 2015). We are also pursuing how TNFR family signaling suppresses pro-growth cues to promote nervous system refinement (Neuron, 2014). In collaboration with the Guler lab, we are building non-invasive tools to better understand the signaling pathways underlying neural circuit assembly and function (Nat. Neuro, 2016). Finally, we are applying what we've learned about the development of the nervous system to nervous system pathology related to degeneration, pain, and metabolism.

Education

B.S. ​Western Michigan University, 1997

Ph.D. ​Purdue University, 2003

Post-Doc ​Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine 2003-2009