Position Title
Professor
Director
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine
- Director, Center for Neuroscience
- Healthy Brain Aging Initiative
- Neuro-X Initiative
- LaMP T32
Research in the my laboratory focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of synapse formation, competition, and elimination in the developing brain. Using novel assays involving time-lapse imaging, the dynamics of pre- and postsynaptic proteins are visualized as they are recruited to, stabilized at, or removed from synaptic sites between cultured neurons. We also use biochemistry, histology, electron microscopy, and whole-cell patch-clamp recording to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie synapse dynamics. The lab is currently focused on determining the molecular signals that mediate the synapse-specific effects of neuronal activity in strengthening or weakening synapses during activity-dependent competition. Finally, we are also interested in elucidating the role for immune molecules in early postnatal cortical development. Since immune molecules are implicated in several neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, MHCI molecules could mediate the effects of the environment on cortical connectivity both during normal development and in disease.
Graduate group affiliations:
Dr. McAllister started a new position as Vice Provost for Research, Scholarly Inquiry, and Creative Activity at Wake Forest University starting September 2024.