Stephen J. Smith





			Stephen J. Smith Title Professor Department Molecular and Cellular Physiology Research Interests Imaging of synapse development and structural dynamics; cell signaling in neural development and plasticity. Email sjsmith@stanford.edu Phone 723-6799 Fax 725-7552 Address Beckman Center B141 Mail Code: 5345 Faculty Research Description Research in the Smith Laboratory addresses brain development and function. Special interests include dynamic and structural aspects of synaptogenesis, cell-cell adhesion and synaptic plasticity. The experimental approach uses sophisticated optical imaging techniques to study live neural cells in cultures, tissues and intact organisms. Recent projects have addressed the dynamics of dendrite growth and presynaptic vesicle pools in hippocampus, the effects of patterned electrical activity in developing tissues, and cytoskeletal rearrangements during cell-cell adhesion events. Dailey, M.E. and Smith, S.J (1996) The dynamics of dendritic structure in developing hippocampal slices. J. Neurosci., 16: 2983-2994. Ryan, T.A., Ziv, N.E. and Smith, S.J (1996) Potentiation of evoked vesicle turnover at individually resolved synaptic boutons. Neuron 17: 125-134. Ziv, N.E. and Smith, S.J (1996) Evidence for a role of dendritic filopodia in synaptogenesis and spine formation. Neuron 17: 91-102. Adams, C.L., Nelson, W.J. and Smith, S.J (1996) Quantitative analysis of cadherin-catenin-actin reorganization during development of cell-cell adhesion. J Cell. Biol. 135: 1899-1911. Ryan, T.A., Reuter, H. and S.J Smith (1997) Optical detection of quantal presynaptic membrane turnover. Nature, in press. Areas of Study Systems/Behavioral Neuroscience Cellular Neurobiology Membrane Excitability Molecular Neurobiology Developmental Neuroscience SBRC Ph.D.