Sheryl A. Scott - Neuroscience Program

Developmental Neuroscience
Molecular Neuroscience
Cellular Neuroscience

e-mail: Sheryl@neuro.utah.edu
B.S. 1971, Duke University; Ph.D. 1976, Yale University; Postdoctoral position 1976-1977, McMaster University, Ontario; 1978-1979 Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, MD

RESEARCH:

Development of sensory neurons

I joined the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy in 1992, after spending 13 years on the faculty of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook University. For nearly 30 years I was supported by NIH for research on neuronal development, using the chick embryo as a model organism. The overall goals of my research program were to understand how neurons acquire their identity and to elucidate the molecular nature of the cues that guide sensory and motor axons to their targets in the limb during embryonic development.

I began phased retirement in 2008, but remain active in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy and School of Medicine in a variety of capacities. I serve as the Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Chair of the department, and am a member of the Curriculum Evaluation Committee in the School of Medicine. Together with Drs. Rick Ash, Kathryn Moore and David Morton, I teach the histology laboratory for first year medical students, and facilitate small group activities for both first and second year students. In addition, I recently collaborated with Drs. Ash and Morton to write a histology textbook, "The Big Picture: Histology," part of an exciting new series of medical texts published by McGraw-Hill.

Selected Publications:

Ash, R., Morton, D.A., and Scott, S.A. (2013) The Big Picture: Histology. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York, 296 pp.

Wang, G.Y., and Scott, S.A. (2008) Retinoid signaling is involved in governing the waiting period for axons in chick hindlimb. Dev. Biol., 321:216-226.

Guan, W., Wang, G.Y., Scott, S.A., and Condic, M.L. (2008) Shh influences cell number and the distribution of neuronal subtypes in dorsal root ganglia. Dev. Biol., 314:317-328.

Wu, Y., Wang, G.Y., Scott, S.A., and Capecchi, M.R. (2008) Hoxc10 and d10 regulate mouse columnar, divisional and motor pool identity of lumbar motoneurons. Development, 135:171-182.

Wang, G.Y., and Scott, S.A. (2007) Onset of ETS expression is not accelerated by premature exposure to signals from limb mesenchyme. Dev Dyn., 236:2109-2117.

Munoz, L. M., Zayachkivsky, A., Kunz, R. B., Hunt, J. M. E., Wang, G. Y., and Scott, S. A. (2005) Ephrin-A5 inhibits growth of embryonic sensory neurons. Dev. Biol., 283:397-408.

Wang, G. Y., and Scott, S. A. (2004) An early broad competence of motoneurons to express ER81 is later sculpted by the periphery. J Neurosci., 24:9789-9798.

Wang, G. Y., and Scott, S. A. (2002) Development of "normal" dermatomes and somatotopic maps by "abnormal" populations of cutaneous neurons. Dev. Biol., 251:424-433.

Cahoon-Metzger, S. M, Wang, G. Y., and Scott, S. A. (2001) Contribution of BDNF-mediated inhibition in patterning avian skin innervation. Dev. Biol., 232:246-254.

Wang, G. Y., and Scott, S. A. (2000) The "waiting period" of sensory and motor axons in early chick hindlimb: Its role in axon pathfinding and neuronal maturation. J. Neurosci., 20:5358-5366.