My general interest is in growth and regeneration in the nervous system. Growing or regenerating nerve cells and their processes must be able to determine and control the direction of their growth or migration. Specifically, I am interested in the role of intracellular calcium in the extension of neuronal growth cones. Specifically, I am studying how applied and endogenous DC electric fields can affect calcium gradients within growth cones, and the subsequent effect these changes have on development and regeneration. I use ratio imaging and confocal techniques to study the distribution of calcium within growth cones.
