Welcome to the Paradis Lab
Suzanne Paradis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Brandeis University
415 South St.
Waltham MA 02454
(781)736-5305 (office)
(781)736-3176/3177 (lab)
(781)736-3107 (fax)
E-mail Sue
Faculty Profile
In the past I have taught Developmental Neurobiology and Neurogenetics. This fall I will be teaching Developmental Biology and in the Spring I will teach Neurogenetics.
Our Research
The human brain is comprised of billions of neurons that make trillions of synaptic connections. Synapses are specialized sites of cell-cell contact that mediate communication between cells in the nervous system and as such form the basis for all brain functions and human cognition. In order to understand how the brain is wired together, we must first understand how synapses form. To this end, our lab studies the molecular basis of synapse formation in the mammalian hippocampus. We utilize a variety of molecular, biochemical, and cell biological techniques to assay synapse formation using time-lapse imaging, imaging of fixed tissue, and electrophyiosological techniques. Our preps include dissociated hippocampal neurons, hippocampal slice cultures, and transgenic and knockout models. Areas of research interest include:
- The role of Class 4 Semaphorin signaling in synapse formation (Funding provided by the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation and by the March of Dimes)
- The mechanism of action of Cadherin family members in synaptic development
- Continued gene discovery using RNAi technology to identify new molecules involved in both excitatory and inhibitory synapse formation (Funding provided by NIH/NIDA)