University of Virginia-Main Campus · BiologyThe Myelination Institute
Sarah C Kucenas · Charlottesville, Virginia
Research Focus
The Kucenas lab at the University of Virginia focuses on understanding how myelination, the process that insulates nerve fibers in the central nervous system, is regulated. Specifically, the research investigates the roles of certain proteins in targeting axons for myelination and how myelination can be both initiated and controlled during the development of the nervous system. By studying these mechanisms in zebrafish, the lab aims to uncover critical insights that could contribute to our understanding of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis.
CNS myelinationoligodendrocytesjunction adhesion moleculestransmembrane proteinsaxon targetingzebrafish modelneurodevelopmentmultiple sclerosis
Research Aims
3AIM 01Determine the role of tmem125b in CNS myelination.
AIM 02Characterize the role of jams 2&3 in developmental myelination.
AIM 03Identify the binding partners for Tmem125b that inhibit ectopic myelination.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRzebrafish geneticsgene editingimmunohistochemistryRNA sequencingcell cultureconfocal microscopyprotein characterization techniquesbioinformatics tools
Output against the department
Publications68bottom 18% of dept.843rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.6kbottom 19% of dept.838th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.