Research Overview

Our focus in developmental neurobiology uses the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model. This organism present many advantages for our research, such as:

• Completely mapped genome with a nervous system consisting of 302 neurons and ~7000 synapses
• Rapid life-cycle with distinct phases of development
• Easily manipulated system for genetic engineering

These attributes of C. elegans and modern tools allows us to study interactions in vivo at the cellular level, informing the foundations of biology and disease pathways.

Resource Links for C. elegans

• WormBook - The Online Review of C. elegans Biology
• WormBase - Genomic Resource
• WormAtlas - Anatomy Resource
• WormWiring - Connectomics Resource
• Caenorhabditis Genetics Center - (CGC) Strain Database at the University of Minnesota

Strains made in the Shen Lab are assigned the unique strain names "TV", with unique allele names "wy".