Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program Round 5 – 2010

Alexander Dunn, Chemical Engineering
Miriam Goodman, Molecular and Cellular Physiology

The Dunn and Goodman labs seek to determine how sensory neurons detect force, using the tiny worm C. elegans as a model system. We hope that the knowledge generated by this project will aid in the development of improved treatments for peripheral neuropathy. This is an urgent societal need: defects in touch and proprioception caused by peripheral neuropathy is a common consequence of both diabetes and normal aging, and are estimated to account for more than $25 billion/year in health-care costs.