Our laboratory has a long-standing interest in the mechanisms by which neurotrophic factors and neurotransmitters act through cell surface receptors to regulate transcriptional responses that are critical for nervous system development and function. Michael Greenberg began his research in this area with the observation that growth factors and neurotrophic factors trigger the induction of c-fos proto-oncogene transcription within minutes of receptor tyrosine kinase activation ( Greenberg and Ziff, 1984). We have for many years characterized in some detail the signaling pathways by which neurotrophic factors induce the transcription of c-fos and other immediate early genes, with an emphasis on the role that protein phosphorylation cascades play in this process. Our studies, together with those of other laboratories, have led to the identification of a network of signaling cascades that couple growth factor activation of cell surface receptors to transcriptional responses. Over the last decade, these studies have expanded to include investigation of the effects of extracellular factors and intracellular signaling pathways on the processes of axon guidance, cell fate determination, synaptic development, and neuronal survival within the developing and adult nervous system. Today, the lab studies many aspects of neuronal signaling and biology.

Current research areas: