People / Jackson Laboratory

Contact

F. Rob Jackson, Ph.D.
Professor of Neuroscience
Director, Tufts Center for Neuroscience Research (CNR)
Office Phone: (617) 636-6752
Lab Phone: (617) 636-3680
Fax: (617) 636-3459
rob.jackson@tufts.edu

Search for recent publications by F. Rob Jackson

Research Interests

Neural clocks (circadian clocks) regulate the expression of daily rhythms in molecular, physiological, and behavioral parameters, and are crucial for the temporal coordination of these various biological processes.  In recent years, there has been a renaissance in our understanding of the molecular basis of circadian rhythmicity. Studies from many different labs have shown that Drosophila, rodents, and humans utilize surprisingly similar molecular mechanisms for controlling rhythmic behaviors.  In my lab, we use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for molecular genetic investigations of the circadian system.  Because of its well characterized genetics and completely sequenced genome, Drosophila provides an excellent model system for the genetic analysis of circadian processes. In the past several years, we have made unique contributions to understanding different aspects of the circadian system, including the oscillatory mechanism itself (i.e., the clock) and the roles of signaling (output) pathways that mediate the transfer of temporal information from the circadian clock to the physiological processes which are regulated by it (reviewed in Jackson et al., 1998, 2001 and 2005). Recently, we demonstrated that glial cells of the brain play an important role in the regulation of rhythmic behavior (Suh and Jackson, 2007). See the links below for information about current lab projects.

Laboratory Projects and Information

• RNA-binding Proteins and Clock Output
• A Function for Glia in Circadian Timing
• Kinases and Molecular Oscillator Function
• Dopamine and insect sleep

We have regular lab meetings to discuss research findings and discuss the circadian literature. We also participate in FlyClub events.

We are proud of the awards our lab members have won – see pictures here.

Lab Members (click links for pictures)

Mary Roberts, Research Assistant
Yanmei Huang, Research Associate
Shui-Ying (Fanny) Ng, Postdoctoral Fellow
Joowon Suh, Postdoctoral Fellow
Michelle Tangredi, Graduate Student in Neuroscience
Rob Jackson, Principal Investigator

Rotating Students (2004-2006)

Shauna Hutchinson, Graduate Student in Genetics
Michelle Tangredi, Graduate Student in Neuroscience
Jackie Lane, Graduate Student in Genetics
Jamison Brewer, Graduate Student in Neuroscience
Ivana Petrovska, Graduate Student in Genetics

2005-2008 Summer Undergraduate Students

Adrienne Poon (2004, 2005) Tufts University
Rachel Olanoff (2006) Tufts University Summer Scholar
An Phan (2008) University of California, Santa Cruz

Selected Publications

Haydon, P.G., Blendy, J., Moss, S.J., Jackson, F. R. (2008) Astrocytic control of synaptic transmission and plasticity: a target for drugs of abuse? Neuropharmacology, in press.

Akten, B., Tangredi, M.M., Jauch, E., Roberts, M.A., Ng, F., Raabe, T., Jackson, F.R. (2008) Ribosomal S6 kinase cooperates with Casein Kinase 2 to modulate the Drosophila circadian molecular oscillator. J. Neuroscience, in revision.

Jackson, F.R., Haydon, P.G. (2008) Glial Cell Regulation of Neurotransmission and Behavior in Drosophila, Neuron Glia Biology, Oct 27: 1-7.

Sofola, O., Sundram, V., Kleyner, Y., Morales, J., Botas, J., Jackson, F.R., Nelson, D.L. (2008) The Drosophila FMRP and LARK RNA-binding proteins function together to regulate eye development and circadian behavior. J. Neuroscience 28: 10200-10205.

Huang, Y., Genova, G., Roberts, M.A., Jackson, F.R. The LARK RNA-binding protein selectively regulates the circadian eclosion rhythm by controlling E74 protein expression. PLoS ONE 10: e1107.

Suh, J., Jackson, F.R. (2007) Drosophila Ebony activity is required within glia for the circadian regulation of locomotor activity. Neuron 55: 435-447.

Reveillaud-Draper, I. Kurshan, P., Moore, F., McBride, E., Ren, Y., Beinborn, M., Jackson, F.R., Kopin, A.S. (2007) Locomotor activity is regulated by D2-like receptors in Drosophila: an anatomic and functional analysis. J. Neurobiol. 67: 378.

Blow, N.S., Salomon, R., Garrity, K., Reveillaud, I., Kopin, A., Jackson, F.R. and Watnick, P. (2005) Vibrio cholerae infection of Drosophila melanogaster mimics the human disease cholera. PLOS Pathogen, 1(1): e8.

Reeve, S. Bassetto, L., Aerts, S., Genova, G.K., Kleyner, Y., Jackson, F.R. and Hassan, B. (2005) The Drosophila Fragile X mental retardation protein controls neurite morphology by directly regulating Profilin in the brain. Current Biology 15: 1156-1163.

Kume, K., Kume, S., Park, S. K., Hirsh, J., Jackson, F.R. (2005) Dopamine is a regulator of arousal in the fruit fly. J. Neuroscience, 25: 7377-7384.

Jackson, F.R., Genova, G.K., Huang, Y., Kleyner, Y., Suh, J., Roberts, M.A., Sundram, V., and Akten, B. (2005) Genetic and biochemical strategies for identifying Drosophila genes that function in circadian control. Methods in Enzymology 393: 663-682.

Schroeder, A. J., Genova, G. K., Roberts, M. A., Kleyner, Y., Suh, J., Jackson, F. R. (2003) Cell-specific expression of the LARK RNA-binding protein results in morphological and circadian behavioral phenotypes. J. Neurogenetics 17: 139-169.

Akten, B., Jauch, E., Genova, G.K., Kim, E.Y., Isaac Edery, Raabe, T., and Jackson, F.R. (2003) A role for CK2 in the Drosophila circadian oscillator. Nature Neuroscience 6: 251-257.

Park, J., Schroder, A.J., Helfrich-Forster, C., Jackson, F.R, and Ewer, J. (2003) Targeted ablation of CCAP neuropeptide-containing neurons of Drosophila causes specific defects in execution and circadian timing of behavior. Development 130: 2645-2658.

Joannella Morales, P. Robin Hiesinger, Andrew J. Schroeder, Kazuhiko Kume, Patrik Verstreken, F. Rob Jackson, David L. Nelson and Bassem A. Hassan (2002). Drosophila Fragile X protein, DFXR, regulates neuronal morphology and function in the brain. Neuron 34: 961-972.

Jackson, F.R., Schroeder, A.J., Roberts, M.A., McNeil, G.P., Kume, K., and Akten, B. (2001) Cellular and molecular mechanisms of circadian control in insects. J. Insect Physiology 47: 833-842.

McNeil, G.P., Schroeder, A.J., Roberts, M.A., and Jackson, F. R. (2001) Genetic analysis of functional domains within the Drosophila LARK RNA-binding protein. Genetics 159: 229-240.

Featherstone, D. Rushton, E, Hilderbrand-Chae, M., Phillips, M., Jackson, F. R., and Broadie, K. (2000) Presynaptic Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase (GAD) is required for induction of the postsynaptic receptor field at a glutamatergic synapse, Neuron 27: 71-84.

Zhang, X., McNeil, G.P., Franklin, T. M., Hilderbrand-Chae, M., Schroeder, A., and Jackson, F.R. (2000) Circadian changes in lark protein abundance within identifiable neurosecretory cells. J. Neurobiology 45: 14-29.

Egan, E., Franklin, T.M., Hilderbrand-Chae, M., McNeil, G.P., Roberts, M., Schroeder, A., Zhang, X., and Jackson, F.R. (1999) An insect cryptochrome with similarity to the blue-light photoreceptors of mammals and plants. J. Neuroscience 19: 3665-3673.

McNeil, G., Zhang, X., Genove, G., and Jackson, F. Rob (1998) A molecular rhythm mediating circadian clock output in Drosophila. Neuron 20: 297-303.

Levine, J.D., M. Imbalzano, I. Sauman, S. Reppert, and F.R. Jackson (1995) Period protein from the giant silkmoth Antheraea pernyi functions as a circadian clock element in Drosophila melanogaster. Neuron 15: 147-157.