Edward Ruthazer, PhD
Professor
Associate Director, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Edward Ruthazer holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair. He studies the development of topographic maps in the brain at the systems, cellular and molecular levels. In particular, he is interested in the influence of neural activity and early experience on the morphology and connectivity of the individual neurons that make up these neural maps. Individual axonal and dendritic branches in the intact brain are constantly remodeling throughout development. Using in vivo time lapse two-photon imaging of single neurons in the retinotectal system of Xenopus tadpoles and the visual cortex of rodents, his laboratory is able to observe the development of CNS connections in the intact, living animal. Combining specific molecular and pharmacological manipulations with in vivo imaging is a powerful approach to unravelling the intracellular and intercellular signaling pathways involved in the formation and refinement of connections between brain regions.
In addition to studying these key events and molecular players in CNS development, the lab is interested in developing novel imaging and electrophysiology techniques for the study of neuronal connectivity and intracellular signaling.
Schwartz, N, Schohl, A. and Ruthazer, E.S. (2011) Activity-dependent transcription of BDNF enhances visual acuity during development. Neuron, 70(3):455-67.
*Polcari D, *Kwan A, Van Horn MR, Danis L, Pellegioni L, *Ruthazer ES, *Mauzeroll J. (2014) A Disk-Shaped Amperometric Enzymatic Biosensor for In Vivo Detection of D-Serine,Anal Chem, 86:3501-7.
*Munz M, *Gobert D, Schohl A, Poquérusse J, Podgorski K, Spratt P, Ruthazer ES (2014) Rapid Hebbian Axonal Remodeling Mediated by Visual StimulationScience, 344(6186): 904-9.
Wu J, Abdelfattah AS, Miraucourt LS, Kutsarova E, Ruangkittisakul A, Zhou H, Ballanyi K, Wicks G, Drobizhev M, Rebane A, Ruthazer ES, and Campbell RE (2014) A long Stokes shift red fluorescent Ca2+ indicator protein for two-photon and ratiometric imaging Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6262.
Sild M, Van Horn MR, Schohl A, Jia D, and Ruthazer ES (2016) Neural Activity-Dependent Regulation of Radial Glial Filopodial Motility Is Mediated by Glial cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase 1 and Contributes to Synapse Maturation in the Developing Visual System J Neurosci, 36:5279–5288.
Miraucourt LS, Tsui J, Gobert D, Desjardins JF, Schohl A, Sild M, Spratt P, Castonguay A, De Koninck Y, Marsh-Armstrong N, Wiseman PW and Ruthazer ES (2016) Endocannabinoid signaling enhances visual responses through modulation of intracellular chloride levels in retinal ganglion cells. eLife, 10.7554/eLife.15932.