معرفی
Erik A. Lundquist is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Kansas, where he has been a faculty member since 2000. He also serves as the Associate Vice-Chancellor for Research for the University of Kansas. His research focuses on developmental neurobiology, particularly using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to study neuronal migration and axon guidance.
Dr. Lundquist earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Nebraska, followed by a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Minnesota. He completed post-doctoral research at the University of California-San Francisco with support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.
His research interests span multiple areas of developmental neurobiology. Using an integrated set of genetic, genomic, microscopic, and computational tools, his lab investigates fundamental genetic mechanisms underlying nervous system development. Key research areas include:
- A new model of directed growth cone migration: the polarity/protrusion model
- Mechanistic and functional transcriptomic analysis of cell migration
- Linking guidance receptors to cytoskeletal mechanisms of axon guidance
- Rho-family GTPase signaling in axon guidance in vivo
Dr. Lundquist's publications reveal a strong focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuronal development, particularly through the study of UNC-6/Netrin signaling, Rho GTPases, and transcriptional regulation during neuronal migration. His work has significantly contributed to our understanding of how growth cones are polarized and directed during nervous system formation.
Among his scientific achievements are:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellowship
- National Institutes of Health Fellowship
Dr. Lundquist is actively involved in teaching and mentoring. He currently teaches BIOL 405 Laboratory in Genetics and has previously taught BIOL 417 Biology of Development (2001-2018) and various graduate courses. He mentors undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral scientists in his laboratory, focusing on training them in the scientific process and research methodology.
He is a co-Investigator on the Center for Molecular Analysis of Disease Pathways NIH COBRE project and is a member of the KU Center for Genomics and the KU Cancer Center.
