Stephen J Smith

Postdoctoral Advisees

• Rachel Nosheny, Estuardo Robles, Gordon Wang

Web Site Links

• Smith Laboratory Site

Industry Relationships

Stanford is committed to ethical and transparent interactions with our industry partners. It is our policy to disclose payments of $5,000 or more, equity valued at $5,000 or more in a publicly traded company, or any equity in a privately held company, to physicians and scientists employed by Stanford University from companies or other commercial entities with which they interact as part of their professional activities. 

• Service on Board of Directors: Nanometrics, Inc.

Research Interests

Research in the Smith Laboratory addresses brain development and function. Special interests include dynamic and structural aspects of synaptogenesis, cell-cell adhesion and synaptic plasticity. The experimental approach uses sophisticated optical imaging techniques to study live neural cells in cultures, tissues and intact organisms. Recent projects have addressed the dynamics of dendrite growth and presynaptic vesicle pools in hippocampus, the effects of patterned electrical activity in developing tissues, and cytoskeletal rearrangements during cell-cell adhesion events.

Publications

• Integrated semiconductor optical sensors for cellular and neural imaging. Levi O,  Lee TT, Lee MM, Smith SJ, Harris JS.  Appl Opt.  2007; 46 (10): 1881-9
• The classical complement cascade mediates CNS synapse elimination. Stevens B,  Allen NJ, Vazquez LE, Howell GR, Christopherson KS, Nouri N, Micheva KD, Mehalow AK, Huberman AD, Stafford B, Sher A, Litke AM, Lambris JD, Smith SJ, John SW, Barres BA.  Cell.  2007; 131 (6): 1164-78
• Array tomography: a new tool for imaging the molecular architecture and ultrastructure of neural circuits. Micheva KD,  Smith SJ.  Neuron.  2007; 55 (1): 25-36
• Circuit reconstruction tools today. Smith SJ,  Curr Opin Neurobiol.  2007; 17 (5): 601-8
• Integrated semiconductor optical sensors for chronic, minimally-invasive imaging of brain function. Lee TT,  Levi O, Cang J, Kaneko M, Stryker MP, Smith SJ, Shenoy KV, Harris JS.  Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc.  2006; 1 1025-8
• Pregabalin reduces the release of synaptic vesicles from cultured hippocampal neurons. Micheva KD,  Taylor CP, Smith SJ.  Mol Pharmacol.  2006; 70 (2): 467-76
• Evidence from in vivo imaging that synaptogenesis guides the growth and branching of axonal arbors by two distinct mechanisms. Meyer MP,  Smith SJ.  J Neurosci.  2006; 26 (13): 3604-14
• Strong effects of subphysiological temperature on the function and plasticity of mammalian presynaptic terminals. Micheva KD,  Smith SJ.  J Neurosci.  2005; 25 (33): 7481-8
• Functional imaging reveals rapid development of visual response properties in the zebrafish tectum. Niell CM,  Smith SJ.  Neuron.  2005; 45 (6): 941-51
• Regulation of axon growth in vivo by activity-based competition. Hua JY,  Smear MC, Baier H, Smith SJ.  Nature.  2005; 434 (7036): 1022-6
• Detection of glutamate release from neurons by genetically encoded surface-displayed FRET nanosensors. Okumoto S,  Looger LL, Micheva KD, Reimer RJ, Smith SJ, Frommer WB.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.  2005; 102 (24): 8740-5
• Greater than 10(6) optical isolation in integrated optoelectronic fluorescence sensor. Thrush E,  Levi O, Cook L, Smith S, Harris J.  Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc.  2004; 3 2080-1
• Optical detection of a quantal presynaptic membrane turnover. Ryan TA,  Reuter H, Smith SJ.  Nature.  1997; 388 (6641): 478-82
• The dynamics of dendritic structure in developing hippocampal slices. Dailey ME,  Smith SJ.  J Neurosci.  1996; 16 (9): 2983-94
• Evidence for a role of dendritic filopodia in synaptogenesis and spine formation. Ziv NE,  Smith SJ.  Neuron.  1996; 17 (1): 91-102
• Potentiation of evoked vesicle turnover at individually resolved synaptic boutons. Ryan TA,  Ziv NE, Smith SJ.  Neuron.  1996; 17 (1): 125-34
• Quantitative analysis of cadherin-catenin-actin reorganization during development of cell-cell adhesion. Adams CL,  Nelson WJ, Smith SJ.  J Cell Biol.  1996; 135 (6 Pt 2): 1899-911
• The kinetics of synaptic vesicle recycling measured at single presynaptic boutons. Ryan TA,  Reuter H, Wendland B, Schweizer FE, Tsien RW, Smith SJ.  Neuron.  1993; 11 (4): 713-24