Chang Lab Research
Laboratory of Assembly and Regeneration of Neuronal Circuits
The Chang lab focuses its research on the nervous system of the C. elegans in the hope that findings will be relevant to the development and regeneration of the human nervous system. Our lab uses a genetic and optical approach. Our major goal is to test this hypothesis: that there are negative regulators of axon growth that limit the brain’s ability to grow out axon. Are there more of these negative regulators in an aging brain than in the baby’s brain? If such molecules exist, blocking their function in the aging brain might rejuvenate neurons. This project has the potential to develop a new approach for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases of aging by harnessing hidden neuronal ability to reorganize itself.
