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Expertise: Developmental Genetics, Neuroscience, Cell & Molecular Biology 

Dr. Vanderzalm joined the Biology Department in 2013 where she teaches courses in development, cell biology, genetics, and molecular biology. She earned a B.A. in Biology and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and did postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago. Dr. Vanderzalm’s research lab focuses on growth control in the genetic model organism, Drosophila melanogaster (more commonly known as the fruit fly). Currently, the lab is interested in synaptic growth during nervous system development and is focused on the evolutionarily conserved gene Tao and its signaling partners in this process. We employ a range of techniques, from molecular biology and protein biochemistry, to dissection and immunofluorescence, to behavioral assays in our attempt to elucidate gene function during synapse formation and growth. Recently, Tao’s mammalian homologs were implicated in autism spectrum disorders, highlighting the importance of proper synaptic growth in this spectrum of disorders.

Recent Publications

• Politano SF☨*, Salemme RR☨*, Ashley J☨, Lopez JA*, Bakula TA*, Puhalla KA*, Quinn JP*, Juszczak MJ*, Phillip LK*, Carrillo RA, Vanderzalm PJ. (2019) Tao negatively regulates BMP signaling during neuromuscular junction development in Drosophila. Developmental Neurobiology, 79(4), 335-349.*Undergraduate researcher; ☨co-first authors
• Hoover KM, Gratz SJ, Herrmann KA, Qi N, Liu Y, Perry-Richardson JJ, Vanderzalm PJ, O’Connor-Giles KM, Broihier HT. (2019) The calcium channel subunit α2δ-3 organizes synapses via an activity-dependent and autocrine BMP signaling pathway. Nature Communications, 10 (5575).
• Yee WB, Delaney PD*, Vanderzalm PJ, Ramachandran S, and Fehon RG. (2019) The CAF-1 complex couples Hippo pathway target gene expression and DNA replication. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 30 (23), 2929-2942. *Undergraduate researcher
• Xu J, Vanderzalm PJ, Ludwig M, Su T, Tokamov SA, Fehon RG. (2018) Yorkie Functions at the Cell Cortex to Promote Myosin Activation in a Non-transcriptional Manner. Developmental Cell 46, 271-284.
• Boggiano JC,** Vanderzalm PJ,** Fehon RG. (2011) Tao-1 phosphorylates Hippo/MST kinases to regulate the Hippo-Salvador-Warts tumor suppressor pathway. Developmental Cell 21, 888-895.  **co-first authors

Teaching Interests

Dr. Vanderzalm teaches courses in the introductory biology sequence as well as upper division courses in Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, and Molecular techniques. Her upper division courses emphasize an experimental approach to understanding biological phenomena, and three of her courses provide students with Additional Writing and Additional Oral Presentation in the Core.

Research Interests

Students in the Vanderzalm lab use fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) as a model organism to understand nervous system development, specifically synapse formation and growth. Synapses are the connections between neurons and their target cells (usually other neurons or muscles) that allow information to be passed along via small chemicals called neurotransmitters. Synapses mediate thinking, sensation, reflexes, hormone release, learning and memory, muscle contraction, and are essential for both brain activity and control of peripheral tissues. Development of synaptic structures to mediate this flow of information (synaptogenesis) requires signaling from neurons to their target cells, and from their target cells back to the neurons. My lab uses the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) as model system for studying the formation and maintenance of synapses. Due to evolutionary conservation, many of the genes involved in NMJ development in Drosophila melanogaster have been shown to function similarly in synaptogenesis in the mammalian central nervous system. My lab identified the gene Tao as a novel regulator of synaptic growth, showing that loss of Tao function results in larger than normal synapses. This suggests that Tao’s normal role in the cell is to restrict growth of the NMJ. We are currently focused on determining how Tao exerts its growth-restrictive effect on developing NMJs. 

Grants and Research Funding

•    George Grauel Faculty Fellowship, one semester paid sabbatical leave (AY 2018-19). •    John Carroll Summer Teaching Fellowship, $5,000 (2014, 2018). •    Children’s Tumor Foundation Young Investigator Award (2012-14).