Wesley Grueber, PhD

Wesley Grueber, PhD

Research Interest

Synapses and Circuits
Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Neuroscience
Cell Specification and Differentiation
Axon Pathfinding and Synaptogenesis

Our lab is interested in patterning and function of the sensory nervous system, with particular focus on proprioceptive and interoceptive systems.

The proprioceptive system endows animals with an ability to sense body position.  This sense is often taken for granted in our daily lives, in that we "intuitively" know where our hands and legs are as we move about, but this information is provided by an array of proprioceptive sensory neurons that are precisely positioned to detect body movements.  This capacity is critically required not only for limbed organisms but also for animals with soft bodies such as Drosophila larvae, which we use as a model to study the functional organization of proprioceptive systems. In recent studies, we exploited the transparent body of Drosophila to simultaneously monitor the activities of a large population body wall proprioceptors using calcium imaging and high-speed volumetric microscopy. Using this approach we identified patterns of sequential activation of proprioceptors during movement that could provide moment-to-moment updates on body position. In further studies we have identified additional proprioceptors in this system that could fill in missing links of body sensing including coordination between different body regions. We have recently begun to explore roles for proprioception in inter-species interactions in diverse model systems.

We are also interested in mechanisms of interoception. The sensing of internal body status is essential for proper functioning of many different organ systems.  In many cases, internal sensory neurons are important sensors and regulators of physiological homeostasis, the so-called brain-body connection.  We study the functions of internal sensory neurons in Drosophila larvae, focusing on neurons that innervate the respiratory system. We have identified diverse anatomy and chemoreceptor expression in different respiratory neurons that points to extensive heterogeneity of a sensory system that was formerly believed to be a homogeneous population. Our current studies focus on identifying the diverse roles for interoceptors in physiological homeostasis, from the biochemical to behavioral levels.

  • Columbia University CIMER Entering Mentoring Training
  • Crawford Bias Reduction Theory and Training
  • NRMN Unconscious bias course
  • Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring
  • NINDS T32/R25 PI Mentoring Workshop
  • CIMER Culturally Aware Mentoring
  • Mental Health First Aid
  • Bystander Intervention Training, January 2024 (Columbia Sexual Violence Response Office)
  • Center for Teaching & Learning: "Building Effective Communication into Mentoring Relationships"
  • BS, 1993 Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine
  • PhD, 2000 Zoology, University of Washington
  • Postdoc, University of California, San Francisco
  • Intro to Neural Development
  • Experimental Approaches in the Neural Sciences
  • Survey of Neuroscience
  • Grace Shin, Associate Research Scientist
  • Raphael Cohn, Postdoc
  • Abby Wood, Graduate Student
  • Nova Qi, Graduate Student
  • Madison Smith, Research Assistant
  • Amena Khair-Eldin, Undergraduate
  • Karlton Gaskin, Undergraduate
  • *Vaadia, R., *Li, W., Voleti, V., Singhania, A., #Hillman E.M.C., and #Grueber, W.B. (2019) Characterization of proprioceptive system dynamics in behaving Drosophila larvae using high-speed volumetric microscopy. Curr Biol29:935-944.
  • Burgos A., Honjo K., Ohyama T., Qian C.S., Shin G.J., Gohl D.M., Silies M., Tracey W.D., Zlatic M., Cardona A., Grueber W.B. (2018) Nociceptive interneurons control modular motor pathways to promote escape behavior in Drosophila. eLife 2018;7:e26016 doi: 10.7554/eLife.26016.
  • Corty M.M., Tam J., and Grueber W.B. (2016). Dendritic diversification through transcription factor mediated suppression of alternative morphologies. Development 143:1351-1362.
  • Bouchard M.B., Voleti V., Mendes C.S., Grueber W.B., Mann R.S., Bruno R.M., Hillman E.M.C (2015) Swept confocally-aligned planar excitation (SCAPE) microscopy for high-speed volumetric imaging of behaving organisms.Nature Photonics 9:113-119.
  • Zipursky, S.L., Grueber W.B. (2013) The molecular basis of self-avoidance. Ann Rev Neurosci. 26:547-568.
  • Kim M.E., Shrestha B.R., Blazeski R., Mason C.A., Grueber W.B. (2012) Integrins establish dendrite-substrate relationships that promote dendritic self-avoidance and patterning in Drosophila sensory neurons. Neuron 73:79-91.
  • Matthews B.J., Grueber W.B. (2011) Dscam1-mediated self-avoidance counters netrin-dependent targeting of dendrites in Drosophila. Curr Biol 21:1480-1487.
  • Hattori D., Chen Y., Matthews B.J., Salwinski L., Sabatti C., Grueber W.B., Zipursky S.L. (2009) Robust discrimination between self and non-self neurites requires thousands of Dscam1 isoforms. Nature 461:644-648.
  • Zlatic M., Li F., Strigini M., Grueber W., Bate M. (2009). Positional Cues in the Drosophila Nerve Cord: Semaphorins Pattern the Dorso-Ventral Axis. PLoS Biol 7(6): e1000135.
  • Corty M.M., Matthews B.J., Grueber W.B. (2009). Molecules and mechanisms of dendrite development in Drosophila.Development 136:1049-1061.
  • Matthews B.J., Kim M.E., Flanagan J.J., Hattori D., Clemens J.C., Zipursky S.L., Grueber W.B. (2007). Dendrite self-avoidance is controlled by Dscam. Cell 129:593-604.

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov

  • Axon Pathfinding and Synaptogenesis 
  • Synapses and Circuits 
  • Neural Degeneration and Repair 
  • Cell Specification and Differentiation