From the Lab to the Limelight - Blog version of our #TraineeTuesday social media series
This #TraineeTuesday, we’re highlighting Luke Ziolkowski, an INP student co-mentored by Elena Gracheva, PhD, and Slav Bagriantsev, PhD. He recently published a paper in eLife, which deepens understanding of how touch is detected “at the very edges” of the peripheral nervous system.
In this study, Luke reported the first whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from the nerve endings of mechanoreceptor neurons. This revealed previously unknown details of how neurons transduce mechanical stimuli into intracellular electrical signals at the location of touch detection.
Historically, the intracellular dynamics of touch detection in these nerve endings were mostly unknown. But Luke was able to record data from this previously inaccessible structure, uncovering fundamental properties of the nerve ending’s electrical response to touch.
Even though touch is so critical for our everyday lives and interactions with the world, the biological mechanisms of touch detection are relatively not as well understood as other senses. I think studying the mechanisms of touch detection is critical for our understanding of not only normal physiology, but also when this sensory system becomes dysfunctional or maladaptive, such as in pain disorders.
Luke Ziolkowski
The project’s first datapoint was a complete accident: Luke originally targeted a different cell type — a glial cell — and unknowingly hit the nerve ending instead. Shocked at the novelty of the data, this became “the most genuine ‘Eureka’ moment” he has had as a researcher.
Luke’s dedication to neuroscience cemented at Washington University in St. Louis. As an undergrad, he took a course called “Drugs, Brain and Behavior,” which introduced him to the incredible complexity of the brain and neuropharmacology. This inspired him to pursue research projects in a few different labs at WashU, igniting his interest in neuroscience PhD programs.
Luke was drawn to Yale’s program after talking to current students — they all appeared to be satisfied with both their work and life. To him, the research environment at Yale is “collegial and welcoming.”
Along with incredible support from my PIs, Slav and Elena, the experience in INP has really motivated me to ask big questions for my thesis and not shy away from difficult experiments if they test important hypotheses.
Luke Ziolkowski
For his thesis project, Luke is investigating mechanosensation in specialized structures surrounding nerve endings called corpuscles. He’s interested in the role of glial cells in these structures and their potential contributions to touch detection, as well as the mechanosensory function of the nerve ending itself.
After graduate school, his next step will likely be a postdoc, with plans to stay in academia and one day start his own lab!