Yerbol Kurmangaliyev, Ph.D.

Research

My research will uncover the genetic principles that guide the formation of complex neural circuits. In the developing brain, neurons must find and connect with their correct synaptic partners to form circuits that enable us to sense the environment and respond appropriately. These complex wiring diagrams are determined, in part, by cell-surface proteins that allow neurons to recognize their targets. In a proof-of-principle project, we generated a comprehensive map of the connections and gene expression profiles of neurons in the motion-sensing circuit of a fruit fly to identify the proteins that guide these neurons to their synaptic partners. Now, using this “connectome-transcriptome” mapping approach, coupled with techniques for editing genes and recording neural activity, we will expand our study to catalog the genes that control the wiring across the entire fruit fly visual system—and use those findings to remodel this circuitry in a controllable manner. This work will reveal how brains are built and provide a new approach for understanding neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in which neuronal wiring is impaired.