Kuchuan Chen

Contact Information

Research Interests

I am a second year graduate student in the Developmental Biology Program. My major research interest is synaptic transmission. Synaptic transmission is the process by which neurons communicate with other neurons or effectors to form a complex network. Regulation and modification of synaptic transmission is involved in many important biological processes, including learning and memory, addiction, as well as many neurological diseases. To find new components involved in synaptic transmission, I am now participating in a large-scale forward genetic screen on the X chromosome. We induce random mutations and use electroretinogram (ERG) recordings of mutant patches in the fly eye as the primary screen to quickly find mutants with defective ERG. We then use photoreceptors and neuromuscular junctions as tools to characterize phenotypes and examine the precise functional roles of these genes by combining Transmission Electron Microscopy, electrophysiology, etc. Currently I am also working on the Mitofusin gene in collaboration with Hector Sandoval and Chi-Kuang Yao.