Thomas Clandinin

Honors and Awards

• Pioneer Awardee, NIH (2007)
• Scholar, McKnight Foundation (2006)
• Fellow, Klingenstein Foundation (2005)
• Burroughs-Wellcome Career Development Award, Burroughs-Wellcome Foundation (2000)
• Searle Scholar, Searle Foundation (2003)
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, Sloan Foundation (2003)

Professional Education

• B.Sc., University of Alberta Genetics (1990)
• M.Sc., University of Calgary Medical Genetics (1992)
• Ph.D., Caltech Biology (1998)

Postdoctoral Advisees

• Sheetal Bhalerao, Damon Clark, Daryl Gohl, Tina Schwabe, Marion Silies, Mathias Wernet, Saskia de Vries

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Neurobiology
• Neurosciences

Research Interests

My lab addresses two distinct questions. That is, how can precise patterns of neuronal connections be genetically programmed during development, and how, once formed, can such circuits be used to mediate complex visual behaviors? Using the fruit fly visual system as a model, we employ genetic approaches to manipulate the functions of genes and neurons. From this, we infer specific developmental roles for particular molecules, and infer specific computational roles for individual neurons.

Publications

• Neural circuitry: seeing the parts that make the picture. Vélez MM,  Clandinin TR.  Curr Biol.  2008; 18 (9): R378-80
• Reactive oxygen species act remotely to cause synapse loss in a Drosophila model of developmental mitochondrial encephalopathy. Mast JD,  Tomalty KM, Vogel H, Clandinin TR.  Development.  2008; 135 (15): 2669-79
• The cadherin Flamingo mediates level-dependent interactions that guide photoreceptor target choice in Drosophila. Chen PL,  Clandinin TR.  Neuron.  2008; 58 (1): 26-33
• Motion processing streams in Drosophila are behaviorally specialized. Katsov AY,  Clandinin TR.  Neuron.  2008; 59 (2): 322-35
• Insect vision: remembering the shape of things. Katsov A,  Clandinin TR.  Curr Biol.  2006; 16 (10): R369-71
• Liprin-alpha is required for photoreceptor target selection in Drosophila. Choe KM,  Prakash S, Bright A, Clandinin TR.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.  2006; 103 (31): 11601-6
• The mechanisms and molecules that connect photoreceptor axons to their targets in Drosophila. Mast JD,  Prakash S, Chen PL, Clandinin TR.  Semin Cell Dev Biol.  2006; 17 (1): 42-9
• Thinking about visual behavior; learning about photoreceptor function. Choe KM,  Clandinin TR.  Curr Top Dev Biol.  2005; 69 187-213
• Surprising twists to exocyst function. Clandinin TR,  Neuron.  2005; 46 (2): 164-6
• Drosophila N-cadherin mediates an attractive interaction between photoreceptor axons and their targets. Prakash S,  Caldwell JC, Eberl DF, Clandinin TR.  Nat Neurosci.  2005; 8 (4): 443-50
• The protocadherin Flamingo is required for axon target selection in the Drosophila visual system. Lee RC,  Clandinin TR, Lee CH, Chen PL, Meinertzhagen IA, Zipursky SL.  Nat Neurosci.  2003; 6 (6): 557-63
• Making connections in the fly visual system. Clandinin TR,  Zipursky SL.  Neuron.  2002; 35 (5): 827-41
• N-cadherin regulates target specificity in the Drosophila visual system. Lee CH,  Herman T, Clandinin TR, Lee R, Zipursky SL.  Neuron.  2001; 30 (2): 437-50
• Drosophila LAR regulates R1-R6 and R7 target specificity in the visual system. Clandinin TR,  Lee CH, Herman T, Lee RC, Yang AY, Ovasapyan S, Zipursky SL.  Neuron.  2001; 32 (2): 237-48
• Afferent growth cone interactions control synaptic specificity in the Drosophila visual system. Clandinin TR,  Zipursky SL.  Neuron.  2000; 28 (2): 427-36
• Hedgehog and Spitz: making a match between photoreceptor axons and their targets. Salecker I,  Clandinin TR, Zipursky SL.  Cell.  1998; 95 (5): 587-90