Biosketch        Top         

As an undergraduate Dr. Johnson studied Chemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1988, she completed her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Washington where she worked with Dr. Stephan Hauschka on muscle development. She joined the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in December 1992 following completion of her postdoctoral studies with Dr. David Anderson at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.           

  Research        Top            

The research in the Johnson lab is focused on vertebrate system development during the transition from proliferating neural stem cells to differentiating neurons and glia. These studies involve understanding the regulation and function of the neural specific class of bHLH transcription factors. Alteration in function and expression of the neural bHLH factors result in disturbances of connectivity, imbalances in excitatory and inhibitory neuron formation and loss of control of neural cell number. Using transgenic mice, genomic sequences are being identified that direct temporal and spatial specific expression of these factors in the developing brain and spinal cord. We are using these regulatory sequences to uncover processes initiating neural stem cell differentiation, and to generate new models to study the molecular control of neural differentiation and specification throughout the nervous system.

  Recent Publications       Top          

Henke, R. M.*, Savage, T. K.*, Meredith, D. M., Glasgow, S. M., Hori, K., Dumas, J., MacDonald, R. J., and Johnson, J. E. (2009) Neurog2 is a Direct Downstream Target of the Ptf1a-Rbpj Transcription Complex in Dorsal Spinal Cord. Development (accepted)

Henke, R. M., Meredith, D. M., Borromeo, M. D., Savage, T. K., and Johnson, J. E. (2009) Ascl1 and Neurog2 form novel complexes and regulate Delta-like3 (Dll3) expression in the neural tube. Dev. Biol. 328, 529-540.

Kim, E. J., Battiste, J., Nakagawa, Y., and Johnson, J. E. (2008) Ascl1 (Mash1) lineage cells contribute to discrete cell populations in CNS architecture. Mol Cell Neurosci 38, 595-606.

Hori, K., Cholewa-Walclaw, J., Nakada, Y., Glascow, S. M., Masui, T., Henke, R. M., Wildner, H., Martarelli, B., Beres, T. M., Epstein, J. A., Magnuson, M. A., MacDonald, R. J., Birchmeier, C. and Johnson, J. E. (2008) A non-classical bHLH-Rbpj transcription factor complex is required for specification of GABAergic neurons independent of Notch signaling. Genes and Dev. 22, 166-178.

Kim, E. J., Leung, C. T., Reed, R. R., and Johnson, J. E. (2007) In vivo analysis of Ascl1 defined progenators reveals distinct developmental dynamics during adult neurogenesis and gliogenesis. J. Neurosci. 27, 12764-12774.

Battiste, J., Helms, A. W., Kim, E. J., Savage, T. K., Lagace, D. C., Mandyam, C. D., Eisch, A. J., Miyoshi, G., and Johnson, J. E. (2007) Ascl1 defines sequentially generated lineage restricted neuronal and oligodendrocyte precursor cells in the spinal cord. Development 134, 285-293.

Glasgow, S., Henke, R. M., Wright, C., MacDonald, R., and Johnson, J. E. (2005) PTF1a determines GABAergic over glutamatergic neuronal cell fate in the spinal cord dorsal horn. Development 132, 5461-5469.

Helms, A. W., Battiste, J., Henke, R. M., Nakada, Y., Simplicio, N., Guillemot, F., and Johnson, J. E. (2005) Sequential roles for Mash1 and Ngn2 in the generation of dorsal spinal cord interneurons. Development 132, 2709-2719.

Nakada, Y., Parab, P., Simmons, A., Omer-Abdalla, A., and Johnson, J. E. (2004) Separable enhancer sequences regulate the expression of the neural bHLH transcription factor Neurogenin1. Dev Biol 271, 479-487.

Liu, Y., Helms, A. W. and Johnson, J. E. (2004) Distinct activities of Msx1 and Msx3 in dorsal neural tube development. Development 131, 1017-1028.

Nakada, Y., Hunsaker, T. L., Henke, R. M. and Johnson, J. E. (2004) Distinct domains within Mash1 and Math1 are required for function in neuronal differentiation versus neuronal cell-type specification. Development 131, 1319-1330.

  Present Lab Staff                   Top

Rooms NA4.146
Telephone: 214-648-1874

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  Past Lab Staff                    Top

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