The Burgess Lab

Our Research Focus

Forming and maintaining synaptic connectivity in the nervous system

The research focus of the Burgess lab is to determine the molecular mechanisms required for the formation and maintenance of synaptic connections in the nervous system. We are using two experimental systems in mice to address these questions. First, we are studying mutations that perturb the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the connection between motor neurons in the spinal cord and muscle fibers in the periphery. Our second experimental model is the retina, a highly accessible tissue that allows the study of neuron-neuron synapse and circuit formation. Our research is directed primarily at understanding the basic biological mechanisms of synapse formation and maintenance. However, there is human disease relevance to this work because defects in these processes cause neuromuscular disorders such as congenital mysasthenic syndromes and peripheral neuropathies (Charcot-Marie-Tooth Diseases) and neurodevelopmental disorders in the central nervous system such as autism and intellectual disability.