Gender	Female
E-mail	deanna.benson@mssm.edu
Education and Training	Ph.D., University of California
	Postdoctoral, University of Virginia
Awards	2007 - present Review Editor Frontiers in Neuroscience
	2005 MSSM Graduate School Excellence in Teaching Award
	2004 - present Associate Editor Journal of Neuroscience
	2003 - present Editor Journal of Comparative Neurology
	2003 - 2007 Member NIH Study Section MCDN7/NDPR
	2000 - 2005 Irma T. Hirschl Career Scientist Award
	1999 - 2002 Education Committee Society for Neuroscience
	1992 - 1993 National Research Service Award
	1986 - 1987 Regents Fellow University of California

Visit Dr. Deanna Benson's Axon Guidance and Synaptogenesis for more information.

Education and Training	Ph.D., University of California
	Postdoctoral, University of Virginia

Research
Specific Clinical/Research Interests:

    * Synapse Formation and Stabilization Synapse Targeting
    * Cortical Axon Guidance
    * Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
    * Connectivity-Based Brain Disorders

Current Students: PhD: Ioana Carcea (NEU), PhD: Kuangfu Hsiao (NEU)
Postdoctoral Fellows: Tonya Anderson
Research Personnel: Alice Elste, Roxana Mesias

Overview:
Development of Neural Circuitry A striking feature of the mature central nervous system is the precision of its synaptic circuitry. More than 20 billion neurons in the human brain are precisely connected with one another through trillions of synapses. Much of the wiring is established in the absence of neural activity or experience indicating that connectivity is encoded in the genetic program. Recent studies support that several devastating developmental diseases, including autism and schizophrenia, have as their root cause modifications in the genetic program that ultimately disrupt the balance of synaptic connections. In order to understand how synapse specificity is achieved, we investigate the mechanisms controlling axon guidance, synapse formation and synapse modification in the developing nervous system.

Visit Dr. Deanna Benson's Axon Guidance and Synaptogenesis for more information.

Ellen J, Hoffman EJ, Mintz CD, Wang S, McNickle DG, Salton SJ, Benson DL. Effects of Ethanol on Axon Outgrowth and Branching in Developing Rat Cortical Neurons. Neuroscience;-in press.

Mintz CD, Carcea I, McNickle DG, Dickson TC, Ge Y, Salton SJ, Benson DL. ERM proteins regulate growth cone responses to Sema3A. Journal of Comparative Neurology 2008; 510(4): 351-366.

Bekirov IH, Nagy V, Svoronos A, Huntley GW, Benson DL. Cadherin-8 and N-cadherin differentially regulate pre- and postsynaptic development of the hippocampal mossy fiber pathway. Hippocampus 2008; 18(4): 349-363.

Elste AM, Benson DL. Structural basis for developmentally regulated changes in cadherin function at synapses. Journal of Comparative Neurology 2006 Mar 20; 495(3): 324-35.

Bozdaqi O, Valcin M, Poskanzer K, Tanaka H, Benson DL. Temporally distinct demands for classic cadherins in synapse formation and maturation. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience 2004 Dec; 4: 509-521.

Anderson TR, Shah PA, Benson DL. Maturation of glutamatergic and GABAergic synapse composition in hippocampal neurons. Neuropharmacology 2004; 47: 694-705.

Dickson TC, Mintz CD, Benson D, Salton SR. Functional binding interaction identified between the axonal CAM L1 and members of the ERM family. J Cell Biol 2002 Jun 24; 157(7): 1105-1112.

Benson DL, Colman DR, Huntley GW. Molecules, maps and synapse specificity. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2001; 2: 899-909.

Zhang W, Benson DL. Stages of synapse development defined by dependence on F-actin. Journal of Neuroscience 2001; 21: 5169-5181.

Bozdagi O, Shan W, Tanaka H, Benson DL, Huntley GW. Increasing numbers of synaptic puncta during late-phase LTP: N-cadherin is synthesized, recruited to synaptic sites, and required for potentiation. Neuron 2000; 28: 245-258.

Benson DL, Schnapp L, Shapiro L, Huntley GW. Making memories stick: Cell adhesion and synapse plasticity. Trends in Cell Biology 2000; 10: 473-482.