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photo Akira Chiba
Professor
252 Cox Science Center, Dept. of Biology
1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33124
(305) 284-1671
Fax: (305) 284-3039 		 
   
laboratory website

akira.chiba@miami.edu
Education and Professional Experience
  • SUNY Albany, Ph.D. in Biology, 1990
  • Yale University, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1990-1993
  • National Institute of Basic Biology, Japan, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1993-1994
  • University of Illinois, Assistant and Associate Professor, 1995-2007
  • University of Miami, Professor, Department of Biology, 2007-present
Grants and Awards
  • Awards
  • Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) Fellowship, 1993-1994
  • Markey Foundation Assistant Professorship, University of Illinois, 1995-2000
  • University Scholar, University of Illinois, 2004-2007
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, 2006-present

  • Grants
  • NSF IBN9514531, Molecular mechanisms of synaptic target recognition, 1996-1999
  • NIH RO1NS035049, Molecular mechanisms of growth cone guidance, 1996-2004
  • NSF IBN9986067, Molecular mechanisms of synaptogenesis, 2000-2004
  • NIH RO1NS040420, Neuronal integrins and axon navigation. 2000-2005
  • NIH RO1MH068650, Molecular mechanisms of dendritic guidance, 2005-2010
  • NIH RO1MH079432, Molecular integration in neuron in vivo, 2007-2012
Areas of Focus
Cellular and Developmental Neuroscience
Research Interests

My interest lies in the emergence of intelligence.  As a biologist, I use Drosophila model and study basic rules of neural network formation in the brain.  My approaches include genetic manipulation, pan-genomics and bioprobe-enabled molecular imaging, and my current topics are:

  • Cell biology of neurons -- the dynamic molecular signaling that specifies axons and dendrites of neurons within intact organisms.
  • Initiation of synapses -- the roles of filopodial dynamics and mechanical force during the molecular assembly at new synapses.
Teaching Interests

I teach research-oriented classes for Biology majors.  Also, I give lectures in cell biology, developmental biology and neuroscience courses.  In my laboratory, I supervise doctoral and postdoctoral students.  In my laboratory, I supervise doctoral and postdoctoral students.
Publications since 1995
  • Chiba A, Snow P, Keshishian H, Hotta Y. (1995) Fasciclin III as a synaptic target recognition molecule in Drosophila. Nature 374:166-168.      
  • Chiba A (1995) Drosophila neuron love story: Fasciclin III, a synaptic target recognition molecule. Cell Technology 14:1069-1075. [in Japanese]
  • Chiba A, Keshishian H. (1996) Neuronal pathfinding and target recognition. Developmental Biology 180:424-432.
  • Keshishian H, Broadie K, Chiba A, Bate M. (1996) The Drosophila neuromuscular junction: a model system fro studying synaptic development and function. Annual Review of Neuroscience 19:545-575.
  • Chiba A (1996) Fasciclins. In: Cell adhesion molecules (eds. M. Takeishi, M. Miyawaki). Tokyo Kagaku Dojin, Tokyo, Japan. pp164-177. [in Japanese]
  • Rose D, Zhu X, Kose H, Hoang B, Cho J, Chiba A (1997) Toll, a muscle cell surface molecule, locally inhibits synaptic initiation of the RP3 motoneuron growth cone in Drosophila. Development 124:1561-1571.
  • Kose H, Rose D, Zhu X, Chiba A (1997) Homophilic synaptic target recognition mediated by Fasciclin III. Development 124:4143-4152.
  • Halfon M, Kose H, Chiba A, Keshishian H (1997) Targeted gene expression without a tissue-specific promoter: using laser-induced single-cell heat shock to create mosaic Drosophila embryos. Proceedings for National Academy of Science USA 94:6255-6260.
  • Wolf B, Seeger M, Chiba A (1998) Commissureless endocytosis is correlated with neuromuscular synapse initiation. Development 125:3853-3863.
  • Hoang B, Chiba A (1998) Role of integrins during axon pathfinding in the Drosophila embryo. Journal of Neuroscience 18:7847-7855.
  • Chiba A, Rose D (1998) "Painting" the target: how local molecular cues define synaptic relationships. BioEssays 20:941-19948.
  • Chiba A (1999) Early development of Drosophila neuromuscular junction: a model for studying neuronetwork development. International Review of Neurobiology 43:1-24.
  • Rose D, Chiba A (1999) A single growth cone is capable of integrating simultaneously presented and functionally distinct molecular cues during target selection. Journal of Neuroscience 19:4899-4906.
  • Shmid A, Chiba A, Doe CQ (1999) Clonal analysis of Drosophila embryonic neuroblasts: neural cell types, axon projections, and synaptic targets. Development 126:4653-4689.
  • Hoang B, Chiba A (1999) Synaptic target recognition: "Identify" and "lock in". Cell and Molecular Life Sciences 55:1399-1406.
  • Chiba A (1999) Live-visualization reveals "myopodia" in a developing insect embryo. Cell Technology 18:852-853. [in Japanese]
  • Suzuki E, Rose D, Chiba A (2000) The ultrastructural dynamics of interacting presynaptic and postsynaptic cells during synaptic target recognition in the Drosophila embryonic neuromuscular system. Journal of Neurobiology 42:448-459.
  • Wolf B, Chiba A (2000) Axon pathfinding proceeds normally despite disrupted growth cone decisions at CNS midline. Development 127:2001-2009.
  • Ritzenthaler S, Suzuki E, Chiba A (2000) Postsyantpic filopodia that interact with innervating motoneuron axons. Nature Neuroscience 3:1012-1017.
  • Rose D, Chiba A (2000) Synaptic target recognition at Drosophila NMJ. Microscopy Research and Technique 49:3-13.
  • Hoang B, Chiba A (2001) The single cell analysis of the Drosophila larval neuromuscular synapses. Developmental Biology 229:55-70.
  • Ritzenthaler S, Chiba A (2001) How muscles court neurons: the roles of “myopodia” and Commissureless endocytosis during the pre-synaptogenesis period. Differentiation, Growth and Development 43:503-508.
  • Chiba A (2001) Neuronetwork: Looking through the eye of flies. Neuron 32:381-384.
  • Kim MD, Kolodzeij P, Chiba A (2002) Cdc42 controls growth cone behavior and axon guidance through separate pathways. Journal of Neuroscience 22:1794-1806.
  • Suzuki E, Ritzenthaler S, Rose D, Chiba A (2002) Behavioral dynamics of postsynaptic cells. Electron Microscope 37:212-214.
  • Furrer M-P, Kim S, Wolf B, Chiba A (2003) Robo and Frazzled/DCC mediate dendritic guidance at the CNS midline. Nature Neuroscience 6:223-230.
  • Ritzenthaler S, Chiba A (2003) Myopodial clustering and neuromuscular synaptogenesis in Drosophila. Journal of Neurobiology 55:31-40.
  • Chiba A, Carrero-Martinez FA, Kamiyama D (2003) Behavioral dynamics of postsynaptic cells. Cell Technology 22:726-729. [in Japanese]
  • Kim MD, Kamiyama D, Hing H, Chiba A (2004) Roles of Rac1 and Pak in controlling axon navigation in Drosophila. Developmental Biology 262:282-293.
  • Kim S, Chiba A (2004) Dendritic guidance. Trends in Neuroscience 274:194-202.
  • Furrer M-P, Chiba A (2004) Molecular mechanisms for Drosophila neuronetwork construction. Neurosignal 13:37-49.
  • Ting CY, Yonekura S, Chung P, Hsu SN, Robertson HM, Chiba A, Lee CH (2005) Drosophila N-cadherin functions in the first stage of the two-stage layer-selection process of R7 photoreceptor afferents. Development 132:953-963.
  • Vasenkova I, Luginbuhl D, Chiba A (2006) Gliopodia extend the range of direct glia-neuron communication during the CNS development in Drosophila. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience 31:123-130.
  • Yonekura S, Ting CY, Neves G, Hung K, Hsu SN, Chiba A, Chess A, Lee CH (2006) The variable transmembrane domain of Drosophila N-cadherin regulates adhesive activity. Molecular and Cellular Biology 26:6598-6608.
  • Furrer MP, Vasenkova I, Kamiyama D, Rosado Y, Chiba A (2007) A Slit and Robo control the development of dendrites in Drosophila CNS. Development 134:3795-3804.
  • • Furrer MP, Vasenkova I, Kamiyama D, Rosado Y, Chiba A (2007) A Slit and Robo control the development of dendrites in Drosophila CNS. Development 134:3795-3804.
  • Buranachai C, Kamiyama D, Chiba A, Williams BD, Clegg RM (2008) Rapid frequency-domain FLIM spinning disk confocal microscope: lifetime resolution improvement and wavelet analysis. Journal of Fluorescence 18:929-942.
  • Hsu S-N, Yonekura S, Ting C-Y, Robertson HM, Olson G, Iwai Y, Uemura T, Chiba A (2009) Conserved alternative splicing of arthropod N-Cadherin. PLoS Genetics 5: e1000441.
  • Kamiyama D, Chiba A (2009) Endogenous activation patterns of Cdc42 GTPase within Drosophila embryos. Science 324:1338-1340.
  • Siechen S, Yang S, Chiba A, Saif T (2009) Mechanical tension contributes to clustering of neurotransmitter vesicles at presynaptic terminals. Proceedings for National Academy of Science USA in press..
 
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