Gary Bassell

Dr. Bassell joined the NBB program in 2009. He is a Professor of Cell Biology and Neurology, and serves as director of the neuronal imaging facility at the Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Dr. Bassell received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (1992), and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School (1992-1996). For nine years he was a faculty member at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, before moving to Emory in 2005. The main research interest of Dr. Bassell’s laboratory is to understand the role of specific mRNAs and proteins in the regulation in axon guidance, nerve regeneration and synaptic plasticity, as well as to elucidate disease mechanisms of spinal muscular atrophy and fragile x syndrome. The lab’s research utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach that involves primary neuronal culture, brain/nerve micro-dissection, viral vectors, fluorescently tagged mRNA and proteins, fluorescence live-cell imaging, and molecular and biochemical methods.