The Directory of Research and Researchers at Brown: Mark Zervas

Dopamine neurons and the innervation of their targets mediate complex behaviors and their degeneration or aberrant function underpins Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. My lab investigates how dopamine neuron circuits develop, how & when the loss of dopamine neurons of a distinct genetic lineage affects brain function, mechanisms of specifying/maintaining dopamine neurons and cell-based therapies to ameliorate deficits in genetically altered mice with features of neurological disorders.

Overview | Research | Grants/Awards | Teaching | Publications

While studying pyramidal neurons differentiation and cortical development, I fortuitously showed that ectopic dendrite growth in metabolic brain disorders was accompanied by intra-neuronal cholesterol and ganglioside accumulation. I subsequently designed a therapeutic approach that ameliorated neuropathology in animal models of Niemann-Pick Disease Type C. This led to an ongoing clinical trial and sparked my interest in brain development and disease.

I am using Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping to forge a link between gene expression during embryogenesis and the behavior of cells during brain development. This method revealed that the Wnt1 lineage contributes to midbrain dopaminergic neurons. I then showed that Wnt1 is required for subpopulations of dopaminergic neurons that mediate movement and cognition; I am now evaluating the pathological and behavioral correlates in these mice, which may be relevant to Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.

I am using state-of-the-art genetic approaches to investigate dopaminergic neuron development, the relationship between genetic lineage and dopamine neuron circuitry and how perturbations in these events may contribute to neurological diseases.

Download Mark Zervas's Curriculum Vitae in PDF Format

Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping demonstrates novel lineage boundary in vivo

Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping showing Wnt1-derived cells during embryogenesis

Wnt1 expression in mouse embryo (E8.5)

midbrain dopaminergic neurons and their axonal projections

Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping: The Wnt1 lineage (red) marked at E10.5 contributes to dopaminergic neurons (green) in vivo

adult mouse brain: whole mount (left), MEMRI (right)

midbrain dopaminergic neuron circuitry schematic

Purkinje and granule neurons of the cerebellum

Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping (GIFM): Wnt1-CreER;R26R mouse embryo brain

MARK ZERVAS, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Manning Assistant Professor of Biology
Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry
Phone: Tel: 401-863-6468
Phone 2: Fax: 401-863-9653
E-mail: Mark_Zervas@brown.edu

Mark Zervas's Brown Research URL:
http://research.brown.edu/myresearch/Mark_Zervas

On The Web:
Zervas Home Page
Edelmann, Zervas et al., 1996
Walkley, Siegel, Dobrenis, Zervas 1998
Zervas & Walkley, 1999
Walkley, Zervas, Wiseman, 2000
Zervas et al., 2001a
Zervas et al., 2001b
Zervas et al., 2004
Zervas et al., 2005a
Zervas et al., 2005b
Zervas & Joyner, 2006

Collaborators at other institutions:
James (Yuanhao) Li, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor)
Department of Genetics and Development Biology
University of Connecticut Health Center
contact: jali@uchc.edu

Sohyun Ahn, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor)
Unit on Developmental Neurogenetics/LMGD
NICHD/NIH
contact: ahnsohyun@mail.nih.gov
web link: http://neuroscience.nih.gov/Lab.asp?Org_ID=120

Are you Mark Zervas? Click here to edit your research profile.

Back to search page

Research at Brown: The Directory of Research and Researchers at Brown: Research Profile