an engineer with
A passion for sensory neurons
Humans rely on sensory neurons to acquire information about the world around us.
{ this page currently under construction — please forgive the dust }
Select research projects
Google Scholar Profile
Visiting this page is the easiest way to access my publications related to my research:
Calcium regulation in age-related sensory neuropathy
My current work as a postdoc focuses on understanding how calcium is regulated in sensory neuron compartments and how dysregulation of this process may drive age-related degeneration.
Dissertation research
My PhD work at Stanford University spanned several projects that were not published as individual papers. For this reason, I have made a PDF of my thesis available for download at this page: https://neurojoy.net/thesis/
MeT channel localization in touch receptor neurons
As a PhD student in Dr. Miriam Goodman’s Lab, I studied how molecular cues within and outside of touch receptor neurons play a role in direction the localization of Mechano-electrical transduction ion channels.
Proprioceptor firing rate follows muscle mechanics
In 2012, Dr. Katie Wilkinson opened her neurophysiology lab at San José State University, and I became her first lab member. In that work I performed extracellular recordings from proprioceptors in an ex vivo prep. This ex vivo prep allowed us to apply controlled stretches to the innervated muscle and measure the accompanying force. Through this project I learned that proprioceptor firing rates are closely related to muscle mechanics during stretch.