Jaeda Coutinho-Budd, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
BA, Neuroscience, Oberlin CollegePhD, Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillPostdoc, Glial Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical SchoolJaeda.coutinho-budd@virginia.edu (or xmn2mh@virginia.edu)
Research Interests
Neuron-glia and glial-glial interactionsResearch Description
Glia are critical components of the nervous system—almost everything that neurons do requires glial support. Significant progress has been made in understanding neuron-glia interactions at synapses and axons, but how glia support neuronal cell bodies in health and disease remains poorly defined. My lab takes advantage of Drosophila cortex glia—a remarkable subclass of glia that extend fine processes to individually wrap almost every neuronal cell body in the central nervous system—as a model to study these neuron-glia interactions in vivo. We aim to better understand how glia develop, communicate with surrounding neurons and glia, and contribute to overall nervous system function and health.