Daniel Alfonso Colón-Ramos, PhD
Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and Cell BiologyCards
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Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Biography
Daniel Colón-Ramos was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He completed his B.A. at Harvard University, his PhD in the lab of Dr. Sally Kornbluth at Duke University and was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Kang Shen at Stanford University. The Colón-Ramos lab is interested in how synapses are precisely assembled to build the neuronal architecture that underlies behavior. To address this, they developed tools in the thermotaxis circuit of C. elegans. Their system enables unbiased genetic screens to identify novel pathways that instruct synaptogenesis in vivo, and single-cell manipulation of these pathways to understand how they influence behavior. As mechanisms underlying synapse structure and function are conserved, the research program seeks to enhance our understanding of synaptic cell biology in higher organisms, which may be important for disease.
Appointments
Cell Biology
ProfessorFully JointNeuroscience
ProfessorFully Joint
Other Departments & Organizations
- Cell Biology
- Cell Biology Research
- Colon-Ramos lab
- Developmental Cell Biology and Genetics
- Diabetes Research Center
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics and Development
- Neuroscience
- Neuroscience Track
- Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral fellow
- Stanford University (2008)
- PhD
- Duke University Medical Center (2003)
- AB
- Harvard College (1998)
Research
Overview
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
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Colón-Ramos Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Giovanna Guerrero-Medina, PhD
Lin Shao, PhD
Marc Hammarlund, PhD
Publications
2024
Antagonism between neuropeptides and monoamines in a distributed circuit for pathogen avoidance
Marquina-Solis J, Feng L, Vandewyer E, Beets I, Hawk J, Colón-Ramos D, Yu J, Fox B, Schroeder F, Bargmann C. Antagonism between neuropeptides and monoamines in a distributed circuit for pathogen avoidance. Cell Reports 2024, 43: 114042. PMID: 38573858, PMCID: PMC11063628, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114042.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsFLP-1 neuropeptidesBacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14Pathogen avoidanceGrowth factor BNematode Caenorhabditis elegansC. elegansCaenorhabditis elegansAvoidance signalPathogen infectionFlp-1NeuropeptidePathogensNeuronsMultiple mechanismsMultiple neuronsInfectionNeuromodulationPromote recoveryFactor BAvoidance behaviorAVKPA14Local and dynamic regulation of neuronal glycolysis in vivo
Wolfe A, Koberstein J, Smith C, Stewart M, Gonzalez I, Hammarlund M, Hyman A, Stork P, Goodman R, Colón-Ramos D. Local and dynamic regulation of neuronal glycolysis in vivo. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2024, 121: e2314699121. PMID: 38198527, PMCID: PMC10801914, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314699121.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsGlycolytic stateEnergy stressEnergy metabolismConditions of energy stressDynamic regulationNeuronal functionIndividual cell typesMitochondrial localizationGenetic analysisSubcellular regionsRegulatory enzymeCell-autonomousNeuronal identityGlycolysisCell typesMetabolic stateImaging dynamic changesMetabolismLiving organismsIn vivoCellsEnergy landscapeIndividual neuronsEnzymeDynamic changesUnderstanding neural circuit function through synaptic engineering
Rabinowitch I, Colón-Ramos D, Krieg M. Understanding neural circuit function through synaptic engineering. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2024, 25: 131-139. PMID: 38172626, DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00777-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsNeural circuitsNeural circuit functionNew synaptic connectionsVivo neural circuitsNeural circuit manipulationConnexin gap junction proteinsSynaptic plasticitySynaptic connectionsElectrical synapsesGap junction proteinCircuit connectivityJunction proteinsSynapsesCircuit functionNeuronsCircuit manipulationsSpecific signalingSpecific connectionsLight-gated channelsNeuropeptides
2022
Incorporating the image formation process into deep learning improves network performance
Li Y, Su Y, Guo M, Han X, Liu J, Vishwasrao H, Li X, Christensen R, Sengupta T, Moyle M, Rey-Suarez I, Chen J, Upadhyaya A, Usdin T, Colón-Ramos D, Liu H, Wu Y, Shroff H. Incorporating the image formation process into deep learning improves network performance. Nature Methods 2022, 19: 1427-1437. PMID: 36316563, PMCID: PMC9636023, DOI: 10.1038/s41592-022-01652-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsLong-Term Precision Editing of Neural Circuits Using Engineered Gap Junction Hemichannels
Dzirasa K, Ransey E, Chesnov K, Wisdom E, Bowman R, Rodriguez T, Adamson E, Thomas G, Almoril-Porras A, Schwennesen H, Colón-Ramos D, Hultman R, Bursac N. Long-Term Precision Editing of Neural Circuits Using Engineered Gap Junction Hemichannels. Biological Psychiatry 2022, 91: s14-s15. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.02.055.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
2019
Isotropic Light-Sheet Microscopy and Automated Cell Lineage Analyses to Catalogue Caenorhabditis elegans Embryogenesis with Subcellular Resolution
Duncan L, Moyle M, Shao L, Sengupta T, Ikegami R, Kumar A, Guo M, Christensen R, Santella A, Bao Z, Shroff H, Mohler W, Colón-Ramos D. Isotropic Light-Sheet Microscopy and Automated Cell Lineage Analyses to Catalogue Caenorhabditis elegans Embryogenesis with Subcellular Resolution. Journal Of Visualized Experiments 2019 DOI: 10.3791/59533-v.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
2015
Untwisting the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo
Christensen RP, Bokinsky A, Santella A, Wu Y, Marquina-Solis J, Guo M, Kovacevic I, Kumar A, Winter PW, Tashakkori N, McCreedy E, Liu H, McAuliffe M, Mohler W, Colón-Ramos D, Bao Z, Shroff H. Untwisting the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. ELife 2015, 4: e10070. PMID: 26633880, PMCID: PMC4764590, DOI: 10.7554/elife.10070.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCaenorhabditis elegansLate embryogenesisSeam cell nucleiSingle cell developmentNematode Caenorhabditis elegansEmbryonic nervous systemSystems-level viewWorm embryoInaccessible periodDevelopmental eventsCell developmentEmbryogenesisCell nucleiPositional informationElegansEmbryosLive embryosNeurodevelopmental eventsEmbryo movementAnnotation softwareCellsNervous systemEnough neuronsDetailed positional informationNeuronsWatching a roundworm develop with a sheet of light
Kumar A, Colón-Ramos D, Shroff H. Watching a roundworm develop with a sheet of light. Physics Today 2015, 68: 58-59. DOI: 10.1063/pt.3.2856.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricAn imaging and analysis toolset for the study of Caenorhabditiselegans neurodevelopment
Christensen R, Bokinsky A, Santella A, Wu Y, Marquina J, Kovacevic I, Kumar A, Winter P, McCreedy E, Mohler W, Bao Z, Colón-Ramos D, Shroff H. An imaging and analysis toolset for the study of Caenorhabditiselegans neurodevelopment. Proceedings Of SPIE--the International Society For Optical Engineering 2015, 9334: 93340c-93340c-9. DOI: 10.1117/12.2082394.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
2014
Impact of Culturally Relevant Contextualized Activities on Elementary and Middle School Students’ Perceptions of Science: An Exploratory Study
González-Espada W, Llerandi-Román P, Fortis-Santiago Y, Guerrero-Medina G, Ortiz-Vega N, Feliú-Mójer M, Colón-Ramos D. Impact of Culturally Relevant Contextualized Activities on Elementary and Middle School Students’ Perceptions of Science: An Exploratory Study. International Journal Of Science Education Part B 2014, 5: 182-202. DOI: 10.1080/21548455.2014.881579.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsContextualized activitiesMiddle school students' perceptionsScience education resourcesSchool students’ perceptionsMiddle school studentsScience literacyStudents' perceptionsActivities studentsPublic schoolsSchool studentsEducation resourcesEvidence of instancesMore interactivityStudentsSchoolsNon-profit groupsCultural relevanceScience LaboratoryExploratory studyLocal culturePerceptionScienceRelevant materialsRelated activitiesBoricua
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
honor AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
International AwardAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceDetails02/13/2012United Stateshonor Sloan Research Fellow
UnknownDetails01/01/2010United Stateshonor Klingenstein Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences
UnknownDetails01/01/2009United States
News & Links
News
- May 03, 2024
Hao, Chen, and Bhaskar Honored With 2024 Kavli Postdoctoral Fellowship
- January 24, 2024Source: YaleNews
Powering the Brain: How Energy Is Distributed Within Single Cells
- August 26, 2022
Andrea Cuentas-Condori Named 2022 Hanna Gray Fellow
- April 14, 2022Source: YaleNews
Colón-Ramos Awarded Germany’s Humboldt Prize
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100 College Street
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Ste 1041
New Haven, CT 06510