Kurt Marsden

Bio

Dr. Kurt Marsden received his B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, where he pursued a variety of subjects including music, history, psychology, and the natural sciences. After graduating, he entered the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he received his Ph.D in Neuroscience. His thesis work with Dr. Reed Carroll revealed novel molecular pathways underlying the plasticity of inhibitory synapses in the hippocampus and earned him the Julius Marmur Research Award. Dr. Marsden then did his postdoctoral research with Dr. Michael Granato at the University of Pennsylvania, studying the genetics of behavior in larval zebrafish.

The overarching goal of the Marsden lab is to better understand the processes underlying neurological disease by uncovering how genetic and environmental factors impact the development of neural circuits and behavior. Using zebrafish as our model system, we take a variety of experimental approaches including gene expression analysis, high-throughput behavioral testing, 3- and 4-D analysis of neural circuits, simultaneous imaging of neuronal activity and behavior, and optogenetic techniques.

Publications

• Effects of 4 Testing Arena Sizes and 11 Types of Embryo Media on Sensorimotor Behaviors in Wild-Type and chd7 Mutant Zebrafish Larvae , ZEBRAFISH (2024)
• Developmental cadmium exposure disrupts zebrafish vestibular calcium channels interfering with otolith formation and inner ear function , NEUROTOXICOLOGY (2023)
• Effects of 4 testing arena sizes and 11 types of embryo media on sensorimotor behaviors in wild-type andchd7mutant zebrafish larvae , (2023)
• Morphological and sensorimotor phenotypes in a zebrafish CHARGE syndrome model are domain-dependent , GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR (2023)
• Morphological and sensorimotor phenotypes in a zebrafish CHARGE syndrome model are domain-dependent , (2022)
• The Cyanotoxin 2,4-DAB Reduces Viability and Causes Behavioral and Molecular Dysfunctions Associated with Neurodegeneration in Larval Zebrafish , NEUROTOXICITY RESEARCH (2022)
• A forward genetic screen identifies Dolk as a regulator of startle magnitude through the potassium channel subunit Kv1.1 , PLOS GENETICS (2021)
• Electrical synaptic transmission requires a postsynaptic scaffolding protein , ELIFE (2021)
• Pioneer Axons Utilize a Dcc Signaling-Mediated Invasion Brake to Precisely Complete Their Pathfinding Odyssey , JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE (2021)
• The cyanotoxin 2,4-DAB enhances mortality and causes behavioral and molecular dysfunctions associated with neurodegeneration in larval zebrafish , (2021)