Prof. Schulz studies the biology of cone snails, venomous marine gastropods whose peptide neurotoxins are highly selective modulators of ion channels and cell surface receptors.
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Research Description
Professor Joseph Schulz is the founding director and curator of the Cosman Shell Collection at SA国际传媒. His research focuses on the physiology and biomechanics of cone snail prey capture. Cone snails combine a rapid venom injection system with fast-acting neurotoxins to rapidly subdue stung prey. In the Schulz lab, students work primarily with fish-hunting cone snails whose venom neurotoxins are potent on vertebrates, including humans. To understand how this venom system is regulated, the lab utilizes a variety of approaches from the fields of peptide biochemistry, molecular biology, neurophysiology, morphology and behavior. The lab has also been developing the zebrafish system, a powerful genetic model, to study the activities of cone snail neurotoxins on vertebrate spinal motor circuits.
Previous students in the lab have gone on to careers in medicine, research biology, biotech and conservation.
In the lab students can experience:
- Working with animals including cone snails and the zebrafish model system
- Isolating and patch clamp recording from single neurons in primary cell culture
- Identifying and purifying novel peptide neurotoxins using genomics and peptidomics approaches
- Utilizing advanced imaging techniques including SEM, confocal microscopy, CT scanning and high-speed videography
- Developing new approaches to the curation and imaging of natural history collections
- Presenting their projects at scientific conferences including meetings hosted by the Society for Neuroscience, International Society of Toxinology and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.
Courses
Marine Biology (BIO105)
Vertebrate Physiology (BIO240)
Sensory Biology and Neurophysiology (BIO340)
Museum Science (BIO 310)
Bio Senior Comprehensives (BIO490)