Mr. Joseph Culotti
Fellow
Current Employer
University of Toronto
Election Year
2006
Academy
Academy of Science
Discipline
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Department
Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute
Keywords
Nervous System, Development, Cell migration, Axon Guidance, C. Elegans
Long Citation
Dr. Joseph Culotti has done pioneering work in the field of axon guidance for decades, leading to our present understanding of the molecular cues that control axon pathfinding. In an elegant series of experiments, Dr. Culotti has identified and molecularly characterized many genes in the nematode worm C. elegans that regulate the behaviour of axon growth cones. One of these genes, unc-6, encodes a secreted axon guidance cue protein, while unc-5 and unc-40 encode transmembrane receptors that mediate either repulsive or attractive responses to unc-6. This work has provided fundamental insight into the way in which an animal nervous system is wired up. Furthermore, it transpires that these same genes are involved in other types of cell movement; Dr. Culotti has therefore revealed a central process for directing cell migration. The genes originally identified by Dr. Culotti in C. elegans are conserved in evolution and apparently play a key role in formation of the mammalian brain and spinal cord. Dr. Culotti's findings therefore, have important implications for understanding nerve regeneration. Dr. Culotti's present work is focused on understanding the signaling pathways that control the cytoskeleton in the axon growth cone. Dr. Culotti has an extensive history of scientific achievement, starting with his earliest work in the 1970s that led to the first identification of the genes that regulate the eukaryotic cell cycle. He is among Canada's foremost geneticists and developmental neurobiologists.
Short Citation
Joseph Culotti has done pioneering work in the field of axon guidance for decades, leading to our present understanding of the molecular cues that control axon path finding. His present work is focused on understanding the signaling pathways that control the cytoskeleton in the axon growth cone. Dr. Culotti has an extensive history of scientific achievement, starting with his earliest work in the 1970s that led to the first identification of the genes that regulate the eukaryotic cell cycle. He is among Canada's foremost geneticists and developmental neurobiologists.
Dr. Joseph Culotti has done pioneering work in the field of axon guidance for decades, leading to our present understanding of the molecular cues that control axon pathfinding. In an elegant series of experiments, Dr. Culotti has identified and molecularly characterized many genes in the nematode worm C. elegans that regulate the behaviour of axon growth cones. One of these genes, unc-6, encodes a secreted axon guidance cue protein, while unc-5 and unc-40 encode transmembrane receptors that mediate either repulsive or attractive responses to unc-6. This work has provided fundamental insight into the way in which an animal nervous system is wired up. Furthermore, it transpires that these same genes are involved in other types of cell movement; Dr. Culotti has therefore revealed a central process for directing cell migration. The genes originally identified by Dr. Culotti in C. elegans are conserved in evolution and apparently play a key role in formation of the mammalian brain and spinal cord. Dr. Culotti's findings therefore, have important implications for understanding nerve regeneration. Dr. Culotti's present work is focused on understanding the signaling pathways that control the cytoskeleton in the axon growth cone. Dr. Culotti has an extensive history of scientific achievement, starting with his earliest work in the 1970s that led to the first identification of the genes that regulate the eukaryotic cell cycle. He is among Canada's foremost geneticists and developmental neurobiologists.
Short Citation
Joseph Culotti has done pioneering work in the field of axon guidance for decades, leading to our present understanding of the molecular cues that control axon path finding. His present work is focused on understanding the signaling pathways that control the cytoskeleton in the axon growth cone. Dr. Culotti has an extensive history of scientific achievement, starting with his earliest work in the 1970s that led to the first identification of the genes that regulate the eukaryotic cell cycle. He is among Canada's foremost geneticists and developmental neurobiologists.
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