Research Interests
The Alvarez Lab studies the structure, development and function of spinal motor circuits. Spinal motoneurons innervate skeletal muscle and are the final common path by which our brain executes motor behaviors and interacts with the world around us. Coordinated movement depends on the pattern and timing of motor output from the spinal cord. Think about the many muscles that need to contract in a coordinated manner to place an index finger on the forehead. Motoneurons innervating different muscles need to fire in the appropriate sequence and frequencies to control both timing and strength of contractions in the different muscles moving a joint or a limb. This control is exerted by the neuronal networks of the spinal cord.
These networks are remarkable and allow us to maintain balance and posture, have volitional movements for either kicking a ball or playing the piano and also start rhythmic patterns like locomotion or scratching. Not surprisingly, they are extremely complex and although they have been investigated for over 100 years there is still much to learn about them. The lab is interested in the following questions:
Funding and Sponsors
Research Highlights and Lab News
March 2022
Lab personnel transitions
- William McCallum was accepted in the Neuroscience PhD program at Emory and will join the program in mid-August. Congratulations!
- Paula Martin Calvo, from the University of Seville (Spain), joined the lab in mid-February sponsored by a Margarita Salas post-doctoral fellowship dependent on the University of Seville and the Next Generation EU program. Welcome Paula!
Lab accomplishments
- Tana Pottorf submitted the following abstract to the NEURO-IMMUNE INTERACTIONS IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM symposium in Keystone June 5th to 9th
TREM2 Regulation in Spinal Cord Microglia following Peripheral Nerve Injury
Tana S. Pottorf, Francisco J. Alvarez