Joel Maruniak

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

PhD, 1977 University of Texas

maruniakj@missouri.edu
573-882-2725
108 Lefevre Hall

Research description

Our research focuses on neurogenesis in adult rodents. We are particularly interested in the unique plasticity of this system in adults. We believe that this unique plasticity is endowed by another unique property of the adult olfactory system: it possesses two populations of neurons that experience normal cell death and replacement. The receptor neurons in the nose, and the granule neurons in the brain, routinely undergo turnover of their population. We are interested in what factors affect the neurogenesis of these two populations.

Another area we are interested in is how caloric restriction (CR) retards aging and increases longevity. It is known that aging and longevity are determined in large part by the loss of segments of telomeres from the ends of chromosomes each time a cell divides. Thus, the telomeres represent a kind of molecular clock that ticks down during each cell division. Our hypothesis is that CR reduces the average rate of cell division. Furthermore, we believe that such a decrease in average rate of cell division could explain the 25% or so increase in life span commonly reported for animals experiencing CR. We want to determine whether the average rates of neurogenesis and somatic mitosis are slowed by CR.

Selected publications

Pierret, C., Spears, K., Morrison, J.A., Maruniak, J.A., Katz, M.L. and Kirk, M.D. 2007. Embryonic stem cell-derived cultures exhibiting elements of a neural stem cell niche. Stem Cells & Development. In press.

Meyer, J.S., Katz, M.L. Maruniak, J.A. and Kirk, M.D. 2006. Embryonic stem cell-derived neural progenitors incorporate into degenerating retina and enhance survival of host photoreceptors. Stem Cells, 24: 274-283.

Pierret, C., Spears, K., Maruniak, J. and Kirk, M.D. 2006. Neural crest as the source of adult stem cells. Stem Cells & Development 15: 286-291.

Meyer, J.S., M.L. Katz, J.A. Maruniak and M.D. Kirk. 2004. Neuronal differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells in vitro and after transplantation into eyes of mutant mice with rapid retinal degeneration. Brain Research, 1014: 131-44.

Etienne, L.A., J.A. Maruniak and E. Walters. 2003. Propylthiouracil alters the expression and activity of glutathione-dependent enzymes in the mouse olfactory mucosa. Brain Research, 977: 149-56.

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