COVID-19: Read the latest research news and education updates

Einstein Community: Review policies & guidelines and view dashboard.

  • Library
  • Intranet
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  • About
  • Education
  • Research
  • Departments & Centers
Giving
Search
Menu
Montefiore Health System
  • Faculty Directory
  • Research Connections
  • Faculty Directory
  • Research Connections
Information For
  • Alumni
  • Donors
  • Faculty
  • Postdocs
  • Students (Prospective, Current)
  • Visitors
Quick Links
  • About
  • Administration
  • Departments & Centers
  • Directory
  • Education & Admissions
  • Events
  • Find Faculty
  • Giving
  • Health
  • Intranet
  • Library
  • Research
  • Webmail
News & Media
  • Newsroom
  • Blog
  • Einstein in the News
  • Expert List for Media
  • Features
  • Magazine
  • Multimedia
  • News Releases
  • Research Briefs
  • Social Media Hub

Faculty Profile

  • Home
  • Faculty Directory
  • Scott W. Emmons, Ph.D.

Scott W. Emmons, Ph.D.

Scott W. Emmons

Professor, Department of Genetics

Professor, Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience

Siegfried Ullmann Chair in Molecular Genetics

Area of Research: C. elegans connectomics; nervous system development; specification of synaptic connectivity, neural cell adhesion proteins; sexual dimorphism of the nervous system.

Contact Information

718.430.3130718.430.8778scott.emmons@einsteinmed.edu

Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus

1300 Morris Park Avenue
Ullmann Building, Room 703
Bronx, NY 10461

Research Profiles

More Resources: Emmons Lab Home PageNematode ConnectomicsWhole-animal connectomes of both Caenorhabditis elegans sexes

Is this your profile? Edit profile

Professional Interests

SCOTT W. EMMONS, Ph.D.

Development and Function of Neural Circuits, Connectomics 

 

How complex neural circuits form and how they function are major unsolved problems in neurobiology.  We use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to study these questions at the cellular and genetic levels.  Connectivity in the C. elegans nervous system is determined by serial section electron microscopy.  C. elegans is the only animal species for which the complete nervous system wiring diagram is known.  It is now available for both male and hermaphrodite adults from work in this laboratory (Cook et al., 2019).  This critical information provides an unparrelled foundation for C. elegans neuroscience research. 

The C. elegans nervous system is a complex neural network.  To understand how the patterns of connectivity are genetically specified, we make use of transgenes that express fluorescent proteins targeted to specific synapses.  We use these synapse-specific labels to identify mutants and genes that affect formation of particular synaptic contacts.  We have determined the expression patterns of the complete set of neural cell adhesion genes in the neural network that governs the mating behavior of the adult male.  By correlating the expression of these molecular cell labels with connectivity, we hope to decipher the molecular code for connectivity.

            Visit our websites: emmonslab.wormwiring.org  wormwiring.org


Selected Publications

Jarrell. T. A., Wang, Y., Bloniarz, A. E., Brittin, C. A., Xu, M., Thomson, J. N., Albertson, D. G., Hall, D. H., and Emmons, S. W.  (2012)  The connectome of a decision-making neural network.  Science 337, 437-444.  This paper was awarded the 2012-2013 AAAS NEWCOMB CLEVELAND PRIZE for the Most Outstanding Research Article Published in Science. 

Emmons, S. W. (2012) The mood of a worm (Perspective). Science 338, 475-476.

Barrios, A., Ghosh, R., Fang, C., Emmons, S.W., and Barr, M.M. (2012)  PDF-1 neuropeptide signaling modulates a neural circuit for mate-searching behavior in C. elegans. Nature Neuroscience 15, 1675-1682.

Xu, M., Jarrell, T.A., Wang, Y., Cook, S.J., Hall, D.H., and Emmons, S.W. (2013) Computer assisted assembly of connectomes from electron micrographs: application to Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS ONE 8(1): e54050. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054050

Emmons, S.W. (2014). The development of sexual dimorphism: studies of the Caenorhabditis elegans male. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Developmental Biology 3, 239-262.

Desbois, M., Cook, S.J., Emmons, S.W., and Bülow, H.E. (2015). Directional Trans-Synaptic Labeling of Specific Neuronal Connections in Live Animals. Genetics, genetics. 115.177006.

Emmons, S.W. (2015). The beginning of connectomics: a commentary on White et al. (1986) ‘The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans’. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 370.

Sammut, M., Cook, S.J., Nguyen, K.C.Q., Felton, T., Hall, D.H., Emmons, S.W., Poole, R.J., and Barrios, A. (2015). Glia-derived neurons are required for sex-specific learning in C. elegans. Nature 526, 385-390.

Emmons, S.W. (2016). Chapter Seventeen - Connectomics, the Final Frontier. In Current Topics in Developmental Biology, M.W. Paul, ed. (Academic Press), pp. 315-330.

Kim, B., Suo, B. & Emmons, Scott W. (2016)  Gene Function Prediction Based on Developmental Transcriptomes of the Two Sexes in C. elegans. Cell Reports 17, 917-928, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.09.051.

Kim, B. & Emmons, S. W. (2017) Multiple conserved cell adhesion protein interactions mediate neural wiring of a sensory circuit in C. elegans. eLife 6, e29257, doi:10.7554/eLife.29257.

Emmons, S. W. Neuronal plasticity in nematode worms (News and Views). (2018) Nature 553, 159-160.

Lázaro-Peña, M. I., Díaz-Balzac, C. A., Bülow, H. E. & Emmons, S. W. (2018) Synaptogenesis Is Modulated by Heparan Sulfate in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 209, 195-208. HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLE

Emmons, S. W. Neural Circuits of Sexual Behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans. Annual review of neuroscience 41, 349-369 (2018).

Cook, S. J., Jarrell, T. A., Brittin, C., Wang, Y., Bloniarz, A. E., Yakovlev, M. A., Nguyen, K. C. Q., Tang, L. T.-H., Bayer, E. A., Duerr, J. S., Buelow, H., Hobert, O., Hall, D. H., and Emmons, S. W. (2019) Whole-animal connectomes of both Caenorhabditis elegans sexes.  Nature 571, 63-71.

 

Related News

More News

  • Connecting the Dots of a Tiny Roundworm
    Einstein Magazine
    Connecting the Dots of a Tiny Roundworm

    May 01, 2020

  • First Complete Wiring Diagram of an Animal's Nervous System
    News Release
    First Complete Wiring Diagram of an Animal's Nervous System

    Jul 03, 2019

  • Dr. Scott Emmons Receives the Marshall S. Horwitz, M.D., Faculty Prize for Research Excellence
    Feature
    Dr. Scott Emmons Receives the Marshall S. Horwitz, M.D., Faculty Prize for Research Excellence

    Mar 15, 2016

  • Extra Brain Cells Make Males Remember Sex
    News Release
    Extra Brain Cells Make Males Remember Sex

    Oct 14, 2015

In the News

More Media Coverage

  • Why Scientists Have Spent Years Mapping This Creature's Brain

    The New York Times - October 26, 2021

    Scott Emmons, Ph.D., comments on the importance of the connectome, a comprehensive structural wiring diagram of a system's or creature's neurons and synapses. Dr. Emmons, who published the first complete connectome of an animal, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, in 2019, is professor of genetics and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, and is the Siegfried Ullmann Chair in Molecular Genetics.

  • How One Neuron Regulates Two Separate Behaviors

    The Scientist - December 13, 2019

    Scott Emmons, Ph.D., comments on a study that determined how a single neuron in C. elegans relays two different stimuli, which indicates the complexity of the roundworm’s system. Dr. Emmons is professor of genetics and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, and is the Siegfried Ullmann Chair in Molecular Genetics.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus
1300 Morris Park Avenue
Bronx, NY 10461
718.430.2000
Affiliated With
Montefiore Health
Yeshiva University
  • About Einstein
    • History
    • Dean's Page
    Administration
    • Administrative Departments
    Alumni
    Careers
  • Centers (Research)
    Contact Us
    Departments
    Diversity
    • Report a Bias Incident
    Donors
    • Giving to Einstein
  • Education
    • Graduate Medical Education (G.M.E.)
    • Graduate Program (Ph.D.)
    • Master of Science in Bioethics (M.B.E.)
    • Master of Science in Clinical Research Methods (M.S.)
    • Medical Program (M.D.)
    • MSTP Program (M.D. - Ph.D.)
  • Einstein Senate
    Faculty Directory
    Health
    • Affiliated Institutions
    • Clinical Programs
    • Global Health
    • E-M Partnership
    INTRANET
    Library
    Luminis Portal
  • Newsroom
    • Blog
    • Einstein in the News
    • Expert List for Media
    • Features
    • Magazine
    • Multimedia
    • News Releases
    • Research Briefs
    • Social Media Hub
  • Policies
    Research
    • Collaboration Zone
    • Scientific Resources
    Video
    Visitors
    • Campus Map
    • Directions
    Webmail
ALBERT EINSTEIN ®
College of Medicine
© Albert Einstein College of Medicine | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Webmaster
Click here to log in