Dr. Jon Pierce-Shimomura
Office: NMS 3.314
phone: (512) 232-4137
email:
Jon Pierce-Shimomura obtained his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Oregon, Eugene in 2000 studying mechanisms for chemotaxis and taste discrimination in the nematode C. elegans with Dr. Shawn Lockery. Dr. Pierce-Shimomura completed post doctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco with Dr. Steve McIntire where he investigated the physiological basis for intoxication in C. elegans. In addition, he has gained fluency in Japanese while studying at Kansai University of Foreign Studies in Osaka, Japan. He joined the faculty at the University of Texas, Austin in 2008.
Research Interests
Our lab seeks to identify genetic mechanisms that govern behaviors. We approach this complex subject by studying how conserved genes contribute to behaviors in the simple but powerful model nematode C. elegans. We are currently focused on two issues: 1) How the worm switches between distinct forms of rhythmic locomotion : crawling and swimming. Understanding the genes and neural mechanisms that enable this switch has implications for explaining how all nervous systems switch between rhythmic activities such as normal and gasping patterns of respiration, walking and running gaits, and even different rhythms in the hippocampus for processing of memory. 2) How the worm responds to different drugs such as ethanol and anesthetics. The molecular mechanisms that underlie the in vivo effects for many drugs of benefit and abuse are often unclear in vertebrate systems. By using the worm as a minimal system, we can rapidly identify which uncharacterized and novel molecules are responsible for behavioral responses to drugs. To study the genetic basis of behaviors, we combine genetic screens to identify genes involved in a behavior, in vivo electrophysiology and calcium imaging to study the function of identified neurons in the behavior, and image analysis tools to quantify the behavior.
Recent Publications
Pierce-Shimomura, J. T., Dores, M., Lockery, S. R. (2005). Analysis of turning bias on chemotaxis in C. elegans, J Experimental Biology 208, p.4727-4733. pdf
Dunn N. A., Lockery, S. R., Pierce-Shimomura, J. T., Conery, J. S. (2004). A neural network model of chemotaxis predicts functions of synaptic connections in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, J Comput Neuroscience 17, p.137-147. pdf
Davies, A. G., Pierce-Shimomura, J. T., Kim, H., VanHoven, M. K., Thiele, T. R., Bonci, A., Bargmann, C. I., and McIntire, S. L. (2003). A central role of the BK potassium channel in behavioral responses to ethanol in C. elegans, Cell 115, p.655-666. pdf
Pierce-Shimomura, J. T., Faumont, S., Gaston, M. R., Pearson, B. J., and Lockery, S. R. (2001). The homeobox gene lim-6 is required for distinct chemosensory representations in C. elegans, Nature 410, p.694-698. pdf
Pierce-Shimomura, J.T., Morse, T.M., and Lockery, S.R. (1999). The fundamental role of pirouettes in C. elegans chemotaxis, J Neurosci 19, p.9557-9569. pdf