Prof. Mike Fainzilber

How do nervous systems build themselves, and what are the molecules or mechanisms that might allow their repair after injury? What are the cellular mechanisms regulating growth and regeneration signaling in neurons? These questions direct our main focus to size and length sensing and growth control in healthy and injured neurons. Our work suggests that size sensing and growth control in large cells is based on a mechanism whereby microtubule motor-dependent localization of RNA encoding importin β1 and mTOR, coupled with regulated local protein synthesis, enable cytoskeleton length sensing for cell growth regulation