Alex Jaworski obtained a Master's degree in Biochemistry at the Free University of Berlin in Germany. He completed his PhD in Developmental Genetics at New York University and his postdoctoral training at the biotechnology company Genentech and The Rockefeller University. Dr. Jaworski joined the faculty at Brown in July 2013. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of axon guidance and neural circuit formation.
| Curran BM, Nickerson KR, Yung AR, Goodrich LV, Jaworski A, Tessier-Lavigne M, Ma L. "Control of T-shaped Bifurcation by Multiple Guidance Mechanisms during Dorsal Funiculus Development in the Spinal Cord." bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2023. |
| Dominov JA, Madigan LA, Whitt JP, Rademacher KL, Webster KM, Zhang H, Banno H, Tang S, Zhang Y, Wightman N, Shychuck EM, Page J, Weiss A, Kelly K, Kucukural A, Brodsky MH, Jaworski A, Fallon JR, Lipscombe D, Brown RH. "Up-regulation of cholesterol synthesis pathways and limited neurodegeneration in a knock-inSod1mutant mouse model of ALS." bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2023. |
| Nickerson KR, Tom I, Cortés E, Abolafia JR, Özkan E, Gonzalez LC, Jaworski A. "WFIKKN2 is a bifunctional axon guidance cue that signals through divergent DCC family receptors." bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2023. |
| Pak, Joseph S., DeLoughery, Zachary J., Wang, Jing, Acharya, Nischal, Park, Yeonwoo, Jaworski, Alexander, Özkan, Engin. "NELL2-Robo3 complex structure reveals mechanisms of receptor activation for axon guidance." Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1489. |
| Suter TACS, Blagburn SV, Fisher SE, Anderson-Keightly HM, D'Elia KP, Jaworski A. "TAG-1 Multifunctionality Coordinates Neuronal Migration, Axon Guidance, and Fasciculation." Cell Reports, vol. 30, no. 4, 2020, pp. 1164-1177.e7. |
| Wang S, Huang S, Johnson S, Rosin V, Lee J, Colomb E, Witt R, Jaworski A, Weiss SJ, Si MS. "Tissue-specific angiogenic and invasive properties of human neonatal thymus and bone MSCs: Role of SLIT3-ROBO1." Stem Cells Translational Medicine, vol. 9, no. 9, 2020, pp. 1102-1113. |
| Suter, Tracey A. C. S., Jaworski, Alexander. "Cell migration and axon guidance at the border between central and peripheral nervous system." Science, vol. 365, no. 6456, 2019, pp. eaaw8231. |
| Taroc EZM, Lin JM, Tulloch AJ, Jaworski A, Forni PE. "Corrigendum: GnRH-1 Neural Migration From the Nose to the Brain Is Independent From Slit2, Robo3 and NELL2 Signaling." Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, vol. 13, 2019, pp. 146. |
| Tulloch AJ, Teo S, Carvajal BV, Tessier-Lavigne M, Jaworski A. "Diverse spinal commissural neuron populations revealed by fate mapping and molecular profiling using a novel Robo3Cre mouse." The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2019. |
| Taroc, Ed Zandro M., Lin, Jennifer M., Tulloch, Alastair J., Jaworski, Alexander, Forni, Paolo E. "GnRH-1 Neural Migration From the Nose to the Brain Is Independent From Slit2, Robo3 and NELL2 Signaling." Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, vol. 13, 2019. |
| Suter TACS, DeLoughery ZJ, Jaworski A. "Meninges-derived cues control axon guidance." Developmental Biology, 2017. |
| Jaworski A, Tom I, Tong RK, Gildea HK, Koch AW, Gonzalez LC, Tessier-Lavigne M. "Operational redundancy in axon guidance through the multifunctional receptor Robo3 and its ligand NELL2." Science, vol. 350, no. 6263, 2015, pp. 961-965. |
| Olsen O, Kallop DY, McLaughlin T, Huntwork-Rodriguez S, Wu Z, Duggan CD, Simon DJ, Lu Y, Easley-Neal C, Takeda K, Hass PE, Jaworski A, O'Leary DD, Weimer RM, Tessier-Lavigne M. "Genetic analysis reveals that amyloid precursor protein and death receptor 6 function in the same pathway to control axonal pruning independent of β-secretase." Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 34, no. 19, 2014, pp. 6438-47. |
| Zhang B, Xiao W, Qiu H, Zhang F, Moniz HA, Jaworski A, Condac E, Gutierrez-Sanchez G, Heiss C, Clugston RD, Azadi P, Greer JJ, Bergmann C, Moremen KW, Li D, Linhardt RJ, Esko JD, Wang L. "Heparan sulfate deficiency disrupts developmental angiogenesis and causes congenital diaphragmatic hernia." Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 124, no. 1, 2014, pp. 209-21. |
| Jaworski A, Tessier-Lavigne M. "Autocrine/juxtaparacrine regulation of axon fasciculation by Slit-Robo signaling." Nature Neuroscience, vol. 15, no. 3, 2012, pp. 367-9. |
| Jaworski A, Long H, Tessier-Lavigne M. "Collaborative and specialized functions of Robo1 and Robo2 in spinal commissural axon guidance." Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 30, no. 28, 2010, pp. 9445-53. |
| Jaworski A, Smith CL, Burden SJ. "GA-binding protein is dispensable for neuromuscular synapse formation and synapse-specific gene expression." Molecular and Cellular Biology, vol. 27, no. 13, 2007, pp. 5040-6. |
| Jevsek M, Jaworski A, Polo-Parada L, Kim N, Fan J, Landmesser LT, Burden SJ. "CD24 is expressed by myofiber synaptic nuclei and regulates synaptic transmission." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 103, no. 16, 2006, pp. 6374-9. |
| Jaworski A, Burden SJ. "Neuromuscular synapse formation in mice lacking motor neuron- and skeletal muscle-derived Neuregulin-1." Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 26, no. 2, 2006, pp. 655-61. |
Connections between neurons are the substrate for nervous system function. The pattern of these connections within neural circuits is a key determinant of information flow through the system and therefore shapes behavioral output. Neurons are assembled into functional networks during embryonic development, and when this wiring process goes awry, it can cause neural circuit dysfunction and disease.
The goal of the Jaworski lab is to understand how the nervous system is wired up during embryogenesis. The guidance of nascent axons to their correct targets is an important aspect of brain wiring, and it is mediated by molecular cues that activate receptors on the leading process of the axon, the growth cone, to attract or repel axons. The mechanisms of axon pathfinding are still not completely defined, and our work aims to identify the relevant molecules and signaling pathways, focusing on several key questions about the logic of axon guidance. How do neurons control and coordinate the expression of axon guidance receptors? How do growth cones integrate and filter information from multiple cues? What are the evolutionary mechanisms for adding and modifying axon guidance ligand-receptor signaling modules to allow the wiring of more complex nervous systems? We are addressing these questions using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates biochemical, bioinformatic, cell biological, embryological, and mouse genetic methods, and we incorporate cutting-edge experimental techniques, such as ex utero culture of mouse embryos, single-cell transcriptomics, and in toto imaging of the developing nervous system.
Our work to elucidate mechanisms of neural circuit development can aid the diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. It also has the potential to inform therapeutic approaches aimed at repairing damaged neuronal connections after physical injury or onset of neurodegenerative disease.
RI-INBRE Pilot Research Development Grant (x2)
Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Award
BIBS Innovation Award
Rhode Island Foundation Medical Research Grant
Brain Research Foundation Fay/Frank Seed Grant
Whitehall Foundation Research Grant
DEARS Foundation Research Grant (x2)
NIH/NINDS R01 (x2), R21
Rhode Island Neuroscience Consortium New Frontiers Award
Brown University Seed Award (x2)
Zimmerman Innovation Award
Curran BM, Nickerson KR, Yung AR, Goodrich LV, Jaworski A, Tessier-Lavigne M, Ma L. Control of T-shaped Bifurcation by Multiple Guidance Mechanisms during Dorsal Funiculus Development in the Spinal Cord. bioRxiv. 2023 Nov 18;. doi: 10.1101/2023.11.17.567638. PubMed PMID: 38014092; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10680847.
Nickerson KR, Tom I, Cortes E, Abolafia JR, Ozkan E, Gonzalez LC, Jaworski A (2023) WFIKKN2 is a bifunctional axon guidance cue that signals through divergent DCC family receptors. bioRxiv 10.1101/2023.06.15.544950.
Dominov JA, Madigan LA, Whitt JP, Rademacher KL, Webster KM, Zhang H, Banno H, Tang S, Zhang Y, Wightman N, Shychuck EM, Page J, Weiss A, Kelly K, Kucukural A, Brodsky MH, Jaworski A, Fallon JR, Lipscombe D, Brown RH (2023) Upregulated cholesterol synthesis pathways and limited neurodegeneration in a knock-in Sod1 mutant mouse model of ALS. bioRxiv 10.1101/2023.05.05.539444.
Wang S, Huang S, Johnson S, Rosin V, Lee J, Colomb E, Witt R, Jaworski A, Weiss SJ, Si MS (2020) Tissue-specific angiogenic and invasive properties of human neonatal thymus and bone MSCs: role of SLIT3-ROBO1. Stem Cell Transl Med 9(9):1102-1113.
Pak JS, DeLoughery ZJ, Wang J, Acharya N, Park Y, Jaworski J, Ozkan E (2020) NELL2-Robo3 complex structure reveals mechanisms of receptor activation for axon guidance. Nat Commun 11:1489.
Suter TACS, Blagburn SV, Fisher SE, Anderson-Keightly HM, D’Elia KP, Jaworski A (2020) TAG-1 multifunctionality coordinates neuronal migration, axon guidance, and fasciculation. Cell Rep 30(4):1164-1177. PMID: 31995756
Suter TACS, Jaworski A (2019) Cell migration and axon guidance at the border between central and peripheral nervous system. Science 365(6456). PMID: 31467195
Tulloch AJ, Teo S, Carvajal BV, Tessier-Lavigne M, Jaworski A (2019) Diverse spinal commissural neuron populations revealed by fate mapping and molecular profiling using a novel Robo3-Cre mouse. J Comp Neurol 527(18):2948-2972. PMID: 31152445
Taroc EZM, Lin JM, Tulloch AJ, Jaworski A, Forni PE (2019) GnRH-1 neural migration from the nose to the brain is independent from Slit2, Robo3, and NELL2 signaling. Front Cell Neurosci 13:70. PMID: 30881290
Suter TACS, DeLoughery ZJ, Jaworski A (2017) Meninges-derived cues control axon guidance. Dev Biol 430(1):1-10. PMID: 28784295
Jaworski A, Tom I, Tong RK, Gildea HK, Koch AW, Gonzalez LC, Tessier-Lavigne M (2015) Operational redundancy in axon guidance through the multifunctional receptor Robo3 and its ligand NELL2. Science 350(6263):961-965. PMID: 26586761
Olsen O, Kallop D, McLaughlin T, Huntwork-Rodriguez S, Wu Z, Duggan CD, Simon DJ, Lu Y, Easley-Neal C, Takeda K, Hass PE, Jaworski A, O’Leary DD, Weimer RM, Tessier-Lavigne M (2014) Genetic analysis reveals that Amyloid Precursor Protein and Death Receptor 6 function in the same pathway to control axonal pruning independent of beta-secretase. J Neurosci 34(19):6438-6447. PMID: 24806670
Zhang B, Xiao W, Qiu H, Zhang F, Moniz, HA, Jaworski A, Condac E, Gutierrez-Sanchez G, Heiss C, Clugston RD, Azadi P, Greer JJ, Bergmann C, Moremen KW, Li D, Linhardt RJ, Esko JD, Wang L (2014) Heparan sulfate deficiency disrupts developmental angiogenesis and causes congenital diaphragmatic hernia. J Clin Invest 124(1):209-221. PMID: 24355925
Jaworski A, Tessier-Lavigne M (2012) Autocrine/juxtaparacrine regulation of axon fasciculation by Slit-Robo signaling. Nat Neurosci 15(3):367-369. PMID: 22306607
Jaworski A, Long H, Tessier-Lavigne M (2010) Collaborative and specialized functions of Robo1 and Robo2 in spinal commissural axon guidance. J Neurosci 30(28):9445-9453. PMID: 20631173
Jaworski A, Smith CL, Burden SJ (2007) GA-binding protein is dispensable for neuromuscular synapse formation and synapse-specific gene expression. Mol Cell Biol 27(13): 5040-5046. PMCID: PMC1951497
Jaworski A, Burden SJ (2006) Neuromuscular synapse formation in mice lacking motor neuron- and skeletal-muscle-derived Neuregulin-1. J Neurosci 26(2):655-661. PMID: 16407563
Jevsek M, Jaworski A, Polo-Parada L, Kim, N, Fan J, Landmesser LT, Burden SJ (2006) CD24 is expressed by myofiber synaptic nuclei and regulates synaptic transmission. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103(16): 6374-6379. PMCID: PMC1435367
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | PhD | New York University |
| 2001 | MS | Free University Berlin |
1999-2001 Gifted Students Fellowship, Cusanuswerk Foundation
2015-2016 Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Award
2015-2016 BIBS Innovation Award
2016-2018 Brain Research Foundation Fay/Frank Seed Award
2016-2019 Whitehall Foundation Award
2018-present June G. Zimmerman Assistant/Associate Professor of Brain Science
2018-2019 Rhode Island Neuroscience New Frontiers Award
2019-2020 Brown University Seed Award
2022 Zimmerman Innovation Award
2022-2023 Brown University Seed Award
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Abdelfattah, Ahmed | Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney University Assistant Professor of Brain Science |
| Fallon, Justin | Professor of Medical Science, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior |
| Hart, Anne | Professor of Neuroscience, Chair of Neuroscience |
| Lipscombe, Diane | Thomas J. Watson, Sr. Professor of Science, Professor of Neuroscience, Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Director of the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science |
Society for Neuroscience
New York Academy of Sciences
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Society for Developmental Biology
NEUR 1930C S01 "Development of the Nervous System"
NEUR 1560 S01 "Developmental Neurobiology"
| NEUR 1560 - Developmental Neurobiology |
