The major aim of my laboratory is to understand the way the nervous system controls behavior.  We now know that the "simple nervous system" of the nematode Ascaris has much more complexity than was ever imagined--the chemical signaling system it uses are very diverse, and we are sorting them out. These signaling systems include the neuropeptides, which we are devoting a major effort towards identifying and sequencing; other signaling systems that we have worked on include serotonin and glutamate, both of which play an important role in the motor nervous system. These signaling systems typically are involved in the process of neuromodulation, and each chemical involved affects the system in a different way.  Some produce profound effects on the neurons they influence, and others have subtle effects. Different chemicals affect different subsets of neurons. Neuromodulation is a matter of details, but the details matter.

We are developing new techniques for identifying peptides in a complex mixture.  I am currently excited about a new class of antibodies that we are developing.  These are generic antibodies that recognize specific C-terminal dipeptide sequences, and we have found many new types of neurons that contain peptides recognized by these antibodies, implying that they contain novel peptides.