Dr. Jordan Renna
Title: Assistant Professor of Biology
Office: ASEC D412
Postdoc – Department of Neuroscience, Brown University (2008 – 2013)
Ph. D. - Vision Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2002 – 2008)
BS - Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis (1998 – 2001)
California State University, Fresno (1996 – 1998)
My research explores the mechanism of neural circuit development. In the spinal cord and cortex, neural circuits require activity-dependent mechanisms for normal maturation. This is also true in the early visual system. Waves of excitation sweep across the inner retina early in development and drive the formation of normal lamination and topography in visual centers of the brain. Disruption of these retinal waves results in miswired circuits and off-target brain projections. Many clinical conditions, such as amblyopia and stereoblindness, can result when the eyes do not properly wire into the brain during development. This makes the retina an ideal system for investigating activity-dependent mechanisms driving neural circuit development as well as for exploring clinical implications of the disruption of these mechanisms. Many key details about the mechanism responsible for the propagation of retinal waves remain unknown. I will continue to use cutting-edge electrophysiological, molecular, and optogenetic techniques to bring a new depth of inquiry to these central issues in the field of circuit maturation. My work lays a foundation that should ultimately help clinicians devise better strategies for repairing or regenerating neural circuits damaged due to injury or developmental disorders.
Renna JM., Weng S., Berson DM. (2011) Light acts through melanopsin to alter retinal wavesand segregation of retinogeniculate afferents. Nature Neuroscience, 2011 Jul, 14, 827-829.
Ecker JL., Dumitrescu ON., Wong KY., Alam N., Chen SK., LeGates T., Renna JM., Prusky G., Berson DM., Hattar S. (2010) Melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion-cell photoreceptors: cellular diversity and role in pattern vision. Neuron, 2010 Jul 15;67(1):49-60.
Strang CE., Renna JM., Amthor FR., Keyser KT. (2010) Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor Localization and Activation Effects on Ganglion Response Properties. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 2010 May; 51(5):2778-2789.
Renna JM., Strang CE., Amthor FR., Keyser KT. (2007) Strychnine, but not PMBA, inhibits neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expressed by rabbit retinal ganglion cells. Visual Neuroscience, 2007 Jul-Aug;24(4):503-11.
Strang CE., Renna JM., Amthor FR., Keyser KT. (2007) Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression by directionally selective ganglion cells. Visual Neuroscience, 2007 Jul-Aug;24(4):523-33.