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Daniel Alfonso Colón-Ramos, PhD

Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and Cell Biology

Contact Information

Daniel Alfonso Colón-Ramos, PhD

Lab Location

Mailing Address

  • PO Box 208001

    333 Cedar Street

    New Haven, CT 06520-8001

    United States

Colon-Ramos Lab

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Research Summary

The human brain consists of 100 billion neurons and over 100 trillion synapses. The ability of a neuron to find its correct target in this complex environment is critical for the formation of the circuits that underlie human behavior. How do neurons discriminate between a plethora of target choices to form precise synaptic connections and assemble specific neural circuits? How do circuits become substrates to experience, and change during to learning?

We have established a system in the C. elegans nerve ring (the nematode brain) to study these questions. The C. elegans nerve ring, the most complex neuropil structure in the organism, is precisely wired to facilitate the nematode’s behaviors. In my lab we examine the decisions that single neurons make in the living, developing animal as they assemble into a functioning brain, and how these connections change during behaviors.

Our lab couples genetic, molecular, biochemical, behavioral and imaging techniques to identify the signals that direct precise circuit connectivity in the nematode brain and how they change during behavior and learning.

Specialized Terms: Neural connectivity; Brain; Nematode C. elegans

Research Interests

Behavior; Brain; Cell Biology; Neurons

Selected Publications

  • Synapse location during growth depends on glia location.Shao Z, Watanabe S, Christensen R, Jorgensen EM, Colón-Ramos DA. Synapse location during growth depends on glia location. Cell 2013, 154: 337-50. PMID: 23870123, PMCID: PMC3808971, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.06.028.
  • Serotonergic neurosecretory synapse targeting is controlled by netrin-releasing guidepost neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans.Nelson JC, Colón-Ramos DA. Serotonergic neurosecretory synapse targeting is controlled by netrin-releasing guidepost neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans. The Journal Of Neuroscience : The Official Journal Of The Society For Neuroscience 2013, 33: 1366-76. PMID: 23345213, PMCID: PMC3584569, DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3471-12.2012.
  • Synaptic vesicle clustering requires a distinct MIG-10/Lamellipodin isoform and ABI-1 downstream from Netrin.Stavoe AK, Nelson JC, Martínez-Velázquez LA, Klein M, Samuel AD, Colón-Ramos DA. Synaptic vesicle clustering requires a distinct MIG-10/Lamellipodin isoform and ABI-1 downstream from Netrin. Genes & Development 2012, 26: 2206-21. PMID: 23028145, PMCID: PMC3465741, DOI: 10.1101/gad.193409.112.
  • Netrin instructs synaptic vesicle clustering through Rac GTPase, MIG-10, and the actin cytoskeleton.Stavoe AK, Colón-Ramos DA. Netrin instructs synaptic vesicle clustering through Rac GTPase, MIG-10, and the actin cytoskeleton. The Journal Of Cell Biology 2012, 197: 75-88. PMID: 22451697, PMCID: PMC3317799, DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201110127.
  • A conserved PTEN/FOXO pathway regulates neuronal morphology during C. elegans development.Christensen R, de la Torre-Ubieta L, Bonni A, Colón-Ramos DA. A conserved PTEN/FOXO pathway regulates neuronal morphology during C. elegans development. Development (Cambridge, England) 2011, 138: 5257-67. PMID: 22069193, PMCID: PMC3210501, DOI: 10.1242/dev.069062.
  • Glia promote local synaptogenesis through UNC-6 (netrin) signaling in C. elegans.Colón-Ramos DA, Margeta MA, Shen K. Glia promote local synaptogenesis through UNC-6 (netrin) signaling in C. elegans. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2007, 318: 103-6. PMID: 17916735, PMCID: PMC2741089, DOI: 10.1126/science.1143762.
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