Research Interests
Determining the mechanisms by which genes influence behavior is the central goal of my research program. The genome-sequencing revolution has identified thousands of genetic mutations that cause neurological disorders that impact human behavior. For any given disorder, mutations in hundreds of different genes can similarly affect behavior, and yet how these disparate mutations converge on similar behavioral phenotypes is largely unknown. To address this question, my group generates zebrafish models of inherited human behavioral disorders to understand how mutations impact neural circuit development and behavior. By comparing multiple forms of a single disorder, we elucidate shared mechanisms by which different mutations affect behavior. Our long-term goal is to leverage these models to inform treatment strategies for individuals with inherited disorders of the nervous system.Teaching Interests
My goals in the classroom are not only to pass on information but also to convey my own excitement about the material as a means of encouraging students to think critically about the topics we cover. My aim is to make the students active participants in their learning. I also expose students to the primary literature and discuss the methods employed by the researchers so that the process by which we understand biological systems becomes apparent.Education
| 1998 | Ph.D. Zoology, University of Washington |
| 1991 | B.A. Biology, Swarthmore College |
Professional Experience
| 2016 - | Associate Professor, University of Miami, Department of Biology |
| 2010 - | Director, University of Miami Zebrafish Facility |
| 2007 - 2016 | Assistant Professor, University of Miami, Department of Biology |
| 2005 - 2007 | Co-lecturer Comparative Invertebrate Embryology (Zool. 536), Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington |
| 2003 - 2007 | Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neurobiology, SUNY Stony Brook |
| 1998 - 2003 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Neurobiology, SUNY Stony Brook |
Honors & Acknowledgements
2016, NIH Profiled as Success Story by NINDS
1998-2000, NIH Individual National Research Service Award
1995-1997, NSF Mathematical Biology Trainee
1991-1994, NIH Molecular and Cellular Biology Trainee
2014-2106, NIH R03 (PI Dallman, JE); “Stable Zebrafish Mutant Models of Autism Spectrum Disorder.”
2012-2017, NIH R01 (PI Tekin, M; CoI J. Dallman) “Genetic Studies of Inner Ear Anomalies”
2012-2017, NIH R01 (PIs Michael Shy, MD and Stephan Zuchner, MD; CoI Julia Dallman) “Genomic Studies in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.”
2012 Muscular Dystrophy Association Grant (PI Stephan Zuchner CoI Julia Dallman) “Gene identification in axonal CMT families.”
2012, Hope for Vision, Advances and future directions in the understanding of autosomal recessive Retinitis Pigmentosa.
2012-2013, NIH, National Institutes of Neurological Disease and Stroke, The Genetics of Parkinsonism (PI: Vance, JM' CoI, J. Dallman)
2009, NIH ARRA funds to J. Dallman; undergraduate summer stipends
2004-2008, Principal Investigator NIH K01 Career Development Award
Development and Neuroscience
Publications
James DM, Kozol RA, Kajiwara Y, Wahl AL*, Storrs EC*, Buxbaum JD, Klein M, Moshiree B, Dallman JE "Intestinal dysmotility in a zebrafish (Danio rerio) shank3a;shank3b mutant model of autism." Molecular Autism 10:3 (2019). [Link]
Bedell V, Buglo E, Marcato D, Pylatiuk C, Mikut R, Stegmaier J, Scudder W*, Wray W*, Züchner S, Strähle U, Peravali R, Dallman JE "Zebrafish: a pharmacogenetic model for anesthesia" Methods in Enzymology 602:189-209 (2018). [Link]
