Edward Polanco

University of California, Los Angeles; Los Angeles CA, United States of America

Kipreos ET et al. (1992) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Cloning of the C. elegans Tumor Suppressor Genes lin-19 and lin-23"

Hedgecock EM, Kipreos ET

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1992]

Cloning of the C. elegans tumor suppressor genes lin-l9 and lin-23. Edward T. Kipreos and Edward M. Hedgecock Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218

DH2

Caenorhabditis elegans

Plenefisch JD et al. (1994) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Cloning mua-3: Some Observations on the New Molecular Era"

Plenefisch JD, Hedgecock EM

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1994]

Cloning mua-3: some observations on the new Molecular Era John Plenefisch and Edward Hedgecock, Dept. of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD 21218

Lyashenko, Alexey et al. (2015) International Worm Meeting "Line scanning fluorescent confocal microscope for a 3D multi-neuron imaging of C. elegans."

Polanco, Edward, Lyashenko, Alexey, Arisaka, Katsushi

[International Worm Meeting, 2015]

Conventional confocal microscope uses a physical aperture to reduce the amount of out of focus light to the image sensor. We developed a line scanning confocal microscope that utilizes a software controlled rolling shutter on a CMOS camera for a high-speed 3D volume imaging of dozens of active neurons. The microscope setup allows for a real time worm tracking for freely navigating C. elegans under a localized external stimulation for phototaxis and thermotaxis. An external photo stimulation for optogenetics was also realized.

Carmona, Christopher et al. (2015) International Worm Meeting "Understanding Neurodynamics Through Light Field Microscopy."

Arisaka, Katsushi, Polanco, Edward, Carmona, Christopher, Madruga, Blake, Hammond, Addam

[International Worm Meeting, 2015]

Light field microscopy is a new technique that allows for quick volumetric imaging of fluorescent specimens. It utilizes a microlens array (MLA) as a key optical component that produces a light field and trades spatial resolution against angular resolution or axial resolution. The MLA is a matrix of lenses with diameters of 130mum that each resolve a visual perspective of a specimen being imaged at relative distances from the native object plane. As a result, recorded light-fields can be computationally reconstructed into full volumes. The volume reconstruction is formulated as an inverse linear transformation that is modeled using wave optics theory. Here, an epifluorescence light field microscope is designed and configured in order to resolve the neural activity of C. elegans during real-time inculcated behavior. The theoretical limits of the microscope's lateral resolution in relation to optical design choices are discussed and compared with experimental results. The primary focus of this investigation is the utilization of light field microscopy in conjunction with computationally intensive image processing methods as a useful tool for analyzing the behavior and corresponding brain activity of C. elegans. Light field microcopy has the potential to offer real-time 3-D video data of the unrestrained behavior of C. elegans.

Levin ED et al. (2009) Neurotoxicology "Genetic aspects of behavioral neurotoxicology."

Kirshner A, Eddins D, French R, Helmcke K, Page GP, Linney E, Lnenicka G, Berger K, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Corl AB, Levin ED, Hirsch HV, Aschner M, Bartlett S, Possidente B, Hayden KM, Chen L, Possidente D, Ruden D, Heberlein U

[Neurotoxicology, 2009]

Considerable progress has been made over the past couple of decades concerning the molecular bases of neurobehavioral function and dysfunction. The field of neurobehavioral genetics is becoming mature. Genetic factors contributing to neurologic diseases such as Alzheimer's disease have been found and evidence for genetic factors contributing to other diseases such as schizophrenia and autism are likely. This genetic approach can also benefit the field of behavioral neurotoxicology. It is clear that there is substantial heterogeneity of response with behavioral impairments resulting from neurotoxicants. Many factors contribute to differential sensitivity, but it is likely that genetic variability plays a prominent role. Important discoveries concerning genetics and behavioral neurotoxicity are being made on a broad front from work with invertebrate and piscine mutant models to classic mouse knockout models and human epidemiologic studies of polymorphisms. Discovering genetic factors of susceptibility to neurobehavioral toxicity not only helps identify those at special risk, it also advances our understanding of the mechanisms by which toxicants impair neurobehavioral function in the larger population. This symposium organized by Edward Levin and Annette Kirshner, brought together researchers from the laboratories of Michael Aschner, Douglas Ruden, Ulrike Heberlein, Edward Levin and Kathleen Welsh-Bohmer conducting studies with Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, fish, rodents and humans studies to determine the role of genetic factors in susceptibility to behavioral impairment from neurotoxic exposure.

Madruga, Blake et al. (2015) International Worm Meeting "Development of a Bessel Beam Sheet Illumination Microscope for Large-Scale 3-D Neural Dynamics in C. elegans."

Chin, Paul, Arisaka, Katsushi, Madruga, Blake, Carmona, Christopher, Sherry, Tim, Mendoza, Steve, Chen, William, Polanco, Edward

[International Worm Meeting, 2015]

Sheet Illumination has recently amassed a lot of attention as a technique, due to many benefits over standard microscopy methods. Decreased phototoxicity, increased signal to noise ratio, and higher photonic efficiency are only a few of the reasons why many researchers are beginning to answer sensitive scientific questions with sheet illumination microscopy. Due to the unique properties and biological characteristics of C. elegans, access to sheet illumination microscopy is limited, costly, and difficult to utilize. The purpose of designing such a device is to bring the proven benefits of sheet illumination to the C. elegans community, in a intuitive, purposefully-designed manner. A type of phase modulator, known as a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) is used in this case to generate a specific bessel-beam pattern. Through the use of an SLM, one can easily modulate multiple characteristics of the illuminative beam in real time, enabling great flexibility, ensuring high resolution across multiple scientific applications.Additionally, the use of a piezoelectric objective collar allows the rapid capturing of three dimensional volumes, enabling researchers to examine the dynamics of many neurons in space and time, at sub-micron axial resolution. Such tools will gain access to the observation of large-scale, three dimensional neuronal activity under controlled or experimental conditions in C. elegans, leading to potential scientific discoveries in the future.

Kruglyak L (2016) Genetics "Complex Traits and Simple Systems: An Interview with Leonid Kruglyak."

KRUGLYAK L

[Genetics, 2016]

The Genetics Society of America's Edward Novitski Prize recognizes an extraordinary level of creativity and intellectual ingenuity in the solution of significant problems in genetics research. The 2016 winner, Leonid Kruglyak, has made innovative contributions to the fields of linkage analysis, population genetics, and genomics, while drawing on a combination of mathematical, computational, and experimental approaches. Among other achievements, his work on statistical standards for genome-wide linkage studies has transformed their experimental design, and the linkage analysis program GENEHUNTER has been used to identify hundreds of human disease loci. Kruglyak's group also pioneered expression quantitative trait locus studies, which enabled variation in global gene expression to shed light on the genetics of complex human diseases. In recent years, his laboratory has focused on using genomic technology to establish Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans as model organisms for studies of complex genetic variation.

Hodgkin J (2017) Genetics "Frontiers of Knowledge: An Interview with 2017 Edward Novitski Prize Recipient Jonathan Hodgkin."

Hodgkin J

[Genetics, 2017]

The Genetics Society of America's Edward Novitski Prize recognizes a single experimental accomplishment or a body of work in which an exceptional level of creativity and intellectual ingenuity has been used to design and execute scientific experiments to solve a difficult problem in genetics. The 2017 winner, Jonathan Hodgkin, used elegant genetic studies to unravel the sex determination pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans He inferred the order of genes in the pathway and their modes of regulation using epistasis analyses-a powerful tool that was quickly adopted by other researchers. He expanded the number and use of informational suppressor mutants in C. elegans that are able to act on many genes. He also introduced the use of collections of wild C. elegans to study naturally occurring genetic variation, paving the way for SNP mapping and QTL analysis, as well as studies of hybrid incompatibilities between worm species. His current work focuses on nematode-bacterial interactions and innate immunity.