Daniel J. Goldman, Ph.D.

Professor, Biological Chemistry

B.S., University of Illinois
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Postdoctoral, Salk Institute

Research Profile

The Goldman lab studies muscle and nerve. Our muscle research focuses on activity-dependent control of muscle gene expression in mice. Muscle activity plays a critical role in shaping the neuromuscular junction during development and maintaining muscle mass and functional properties in the adult. Using a combination of in vivo and in vitro assays our research has led to the identification of activity-dependent control elements within muscle-specific gene promoters and the identification of signaling molecules that impinge upon them. Our goals are to define the signal transduction cascades that confer activity-dependent regulation on muscle gene expression and use this information to improve muscle function following damage or disease.

Our research in the nervous system focuses on two areas: optic nerve regeneration and retinal cellular regeneration. Fish posses the remarkable ability to regenerate their CNS following damage. We are using transgenic zebrafish as a model system to identify mechanisms for CNS repair following damage or disease. We are using microarrays to identify genes induced in regenerating neurons and antisense knockdown strategies to examine their function. We have discovered that retinal Muller glia dedifferentiate following retinal damage and generate multipotent progenitors that can then repopulate the damaged retina and restore its function. Our goals are to define the mechanisms underlying successful regeneration in fish and use these mechanisms to suggest strategies for improving mammalian CNS regeneration following damage or disease.

Awards

1994 University of Michigan Scientist Award
1995 Mental Health Research Institute Discovery Award
2003 Research Scientist Achievement Award of the Office of the VP for Research

PubMed Search Term : goldman d

Publications

Macpherson,P.C.D., Cieslak, D. and Goldman, D. Myogenin-Dependent nAChR Clustering in Aneural Myotubes. Mol. Cell. Neurosci. 2006; 31:649-660.PMID: 16443371

Tang, H., Veldman, M. B. and Goldman, D. Characterization of a muscle-specific enhancer in human MuSK promoter reveals the essential role of myogenin in controlling activity-dependent gene regulation.  J. Biol. Chem. 2006; 281:3943-3953. PMID: 16361705

Sayer, J. A.,et al., A novel controsomal protein, nephrocystin-6, is mutated in Joubert syndrome and activates transcription factor ATF4/CREB2.  Nature Genetics, 2006; 38:674-681.

Gulati-Leekha, A. and Goldman, D. A reporter-assisted mutagenesis screen using a1 tubulin-GFP transgenic zebrafish uncovers missteps during neuronal development and axonogenesis.  Developmental Biology, 2006; 296:29-47.

Fausett, B. and Goldman, D. (2006). A role for a1 tubulin-expressing Muller glia in regeneration of the injured zebrafish retina.  J. Neurosci. 2006; 26:6303-6313.

Tang, H. and Goldman, D. Activity-dependent gene regulation in skeletalmuscle is mediated by a histone deacetylase (HDAC)-Dach2-myogenin signal transduction cascade. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2006; 103:16977-16982.

Catalano, A. E., Raymond, P. A., Goldman, D. and Wei, X. Zebrafish dou yan
mutation causes patterning defects and extensive cell death in the retina.
Developmental Dynamics 2007; 236:1295-1306. PMID: 17436278

Buchner, D. A., Su, F., Yamaoka, J. S., Kamei, M., Shavit, J. A., Barthel,
L. K., McGee, B., Amigo, J. D., Kim, S., Hanosh, A. W., Jagadeeswaran, P.,
Goldman, D., Lawson, N. D., Raymond, P. A., Weinstein, B. M., Ginsburg, D.
and Lyons, S. E. pak2a mutations cause cerebral hemorrhage in redhead
zebrafish. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2007; 104:13996-14001. PMID: 17715297

Veldman, M. B., Bemben, M. A., Thompson, R. C. and Goldman, D. Gene
expression analysis of zebrafish retinal ganglion cells during optic nerve
regeneration identifies KLF6a and KLF7a as important regulators of axon
regeneration. Developmental Biology, 2007; 312:596-612. PMID: 17949705

Fausett, B. V., Gumerson, J. D. and Goldman, D. The proneural gene ascl1a is
required for retina regeneration. J. Neurosci. 2008; 28:1109-1117.