Vasja Urbančič University positionPhD student DepartmentsDepartment of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience Research ThemesInterestsThe growth cones of developing axons are guided on their journey through the developing nervous system by guidance cues that instruct their progression along a precise pathway towards their target area. The responses of growth cones to many of these guidance cues depend crucially on local mRNA translation in the axon. Axons harbour highly complex transcriptomes and we currently have a very incomplete understanding of which transcripts need to be locally translated to enable growth cones to respond to guidance cues. Using the Xenopus retinal ganglion cells as a model system, I study the dynamics of the translational response in the growth cone and the role of cytoskeletal and adhesion-related mRNA species whose translation is important for growth cone guidance downstream of guidance cues.  A growth cone stained for actin (green) and microtubule (blue) cytoskeleton Click image to view full-size Research Focus
EquipmentCell culture Confocal microscopy Fluorescence microscopy Laser capture microdissection Microscopy Collaborators
Associated News ItemsPublications2013Evans IR, Ghai PA, Urbančič V, Tan KL, Wood W (2013), “SCAR/WAVE-mediated processing of engulfed apoptotic corpses is essential for effective macrophage migration in Drosophila.” Cell Death Differ 20(5):709-20 Details Leung LC, Urbančič V, Baudet ML, Dwivedy A, Bayley TG, Lee AC, Harris WA, Holt CE (2013), “Coupling of NF-protocadherin signaling to axon guidance by cue-induced translation.” Nat Neurosci 16(2):166-73 Details 2011Pulver SR, Cognigni P, Denholm B, Fabre C, Gu WX, Linneweber G, Prieto-Godino L, Urbancic V, Zwart M, Miguel-Aliaga I (2011), “Why flies? Inexpensive public engagement exercises to explain the value of basic biomedical research on Drosophila melanogaster.” Adv Physiol Educ 35(4):384-92 Details |