Dr. Wong studies the development of neural circuits. Her lab applies a multidisciplinary approach to investigate how retinal circuits in zebra fish and mice are assembled appropriately during development. She uses in vivo and in vitro imaging approaches to determine how the unique axonal and dendritic morphologies of all classes of retinal neurons are established during development. She uses transgenic animals lacking specific forms of neurotransmission to examine the role of cell-cell interactions in specifying neuronal structure and connectivity. She also combines imaging methods with electrophysiology approaches to determine how functional circuits are established, and to relate structural changes to neuronal processing.

Selected Publications:

Huckfeldt RM, Schubert T, Morgan JL, Godinho L, Di Cristo G, Huang ZJ, Wong RO.
Transient neurites of retinal horizontal cells exhibit columnar tiling via homotypic interactions.
Nat Neurosci. 2009 Jan; 12(1):35-43.

Kerschensteiner D, Wong RO.
A precisely timed asynchronous pattern of ON and OFF retinal ganglion cell activity during propagation of retinal waves.
Neuron. 2008 Jun 26; 58(6):851-8.

Kerschensteiner D, Liu H, Cheng CW, Demas J, Cheng SH, Hui CC, Chow RL, Wong RO.
Genetic control of circuit function: Vsx1 and Irx5 transcription factors regulate contrast adaptation in the mouse retina.
J Neurosci. 2008 Mar 5;28(10):2342-52.

Godinho L, Williams PR, Claassen Y, Provost E, Leach SD, Kamermans M, Wong RO.
Nonapical symmetric divisions underlie horizontal cell layer formation in the developing retina in vivo.
Neuron. 2007 Nov 21; 56(4):597-603.

Mumm JS, Williams PR, Godinho L, Koerber A, Pittman AJ, Roeser T, Chien CB, Baier H, Wong RO.
In vivo imaging reveals dendritic targeting of laminated afferents by zebrafish retinal ganglion cells.
Neuron. 2006 Nov 22;52(4):609-21.

Demas J, Sagdullaev BT, Green E, Jaubert-Miazza L, McCall MA, Gregg RG, Wong RO, Guido W.
Failure to maintain eye-specific segregation in nob, a mutant with abnormally patterned retinal activity.
Neuron. 2006 Apr 20;50(2):247-59.

Morgan JL, Dhingra A, Vardi N, Wong RO.
Axons and dendrites originate from neuroepithelial-like processes of retinal bipolar cells.
Nat Neurosci. 2006 Jan;9(1):85-92.

NIH Neuroscience Seminar Series