Clifford Woolf

Clifford Woolf, MB, BCh, PhD

Professor of Neurology

Adaptive and Maladaptive Plasticity in Sensory and Motor Systems

Neurons are subject to functional, chemical and structural plasticity. This plasticity is an important factor both in the normal function of the nervous system and in a vast range of neurological diseases.

The Woolf lab studies how different forms of neuronal plasticity contribute both to adaptive and maladaptive changes in the mammalian nervous system, particularly in relation to pain, regeneration and neurodegenerative diseases.

Most of our work is concentrated on primary sensory and motor neurons, and to the interaction of neurons and immune cells, using a multidisciplinary approach spanning stem cell, molecular and cell biology, electrophysiology, neuroanatomy, behavior and genetics. We have established functional and comparative genomic strategies using expression profiling, bioinformatics and gain- and loss-of-function approaches, to screen for novel genes that contribute to neuronal plasticity and disease phenotypes. Our group works closely with many academic groups and the pharmaceutical industry to model disease and identify molecular targets for novel analgesics, axonal growth determinants and neuroprotective agents.

Current research includes study of the transcriptional control and post-translational processing of receptors and ion channels that mediate pain hypersensitivity, selective silencing of defined neuronal populations, intracellular signal transduction cascades activated by peripheral inflammation and nerve injury, neuro-immune interactions, transcription factors as master regulators of pain, growth and survival programs, cell survival in injured sensory and motor neurons, and the contribution of intrinsic growth determinants in establishing regenerative capacity in the peripheral and central nervous system. We are an active part of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and are investigating how sensory and motor neurons reprogrammed from patient fibroblasts can be used to study pain and motor neuron disease and to screen for new treatments.

Publications View
A ?d T cell-IL-3 axis controls allergic responses through sensory neurons.
Authors: Authors: Flayer CH, Kernin IJ, Matatia PR, Zeng X, Yarmolinsky DA, Han C, Naik PR, Buttaci DR, Aderhold PA, Camire RB, Zhu X, Tirard AJ, McGuire JT, Smith NP, McKimmie CS, McAlpine CS, Swirski FK, Woolf CJ, Villani AC, Sokol CL.
Nature
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Satellite glial contact enhances differentiation and maturation of human iPSC-derived sensory neurons.
Authors: Authors: LeBlang CJ, Pazyra-Murphy MF, Silagi ES, Dasgupta S, Tsolias M, Miller T, Petrova V, Zhen S, Jovanovic V, Castellano D, Gerrish K, Ormanoglu P, Tristan C, Singeç I, Woolf CJ, Tasdemir-Yilmaz O, Segal RA.
bioRxiv
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Mast cell-derived BH4 and serotonin are critical mediators of postoperative pain.
Authors: Authors: Starkl P, Jonsson G, Artner T, Turnes BL, Gail LM, Oliveira T, Jain A, Serhan N, Stejskal K, Lakovits K, Hladik A, An M, Channon KM, Kim H, Köcher T, Weninger W, Stary G, Knapp S, Klang V, Gaudenzio N, Woolf CJ, Tikoo S, Jain R, Penninger JM, Cronin SJF.
Sci Immunol
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Identification of novel neuroprotectants against vincristine-induced neurotoxicity in iPSC-derived neurons.
Authors: Authors: Petrova V, Snavely AR, Splaine J, Zhen S, Singh B, Pandey R, Chen K, Cheng A, Hermawan C, Barrett LB, Smith JA, Woolf CJ.
Cell Mol Life Sci
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Core transcription programs controlling injury-induced neurodegeneration of retinal ganglion cells.
Authors: Authors: Tian F, Cheng Y, Zhou S, Wang Q, Monavarfeshani A, Gao K, Jiang W, Kawaguchi R, Wang Q, Tang M, Donahue R, Meng H, Zhang Y, Jacobi A, Yan W, Yin J, Cai X, Yang Z, Hegarty S, Stanicka J, Dmitriev P, Taub D, Zhu J, Woolf CJ, Sanes JR, Geschwind DH, He Z.
Neuron
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Core transcription programs controlling injury-induced neurodegeneration of retinal ganglion cells.
Authors: Authors: Tian F, Cheng Y, Zhou S, Wang Q, Monavarfeshani A, Gao K, Jiang W, Kawaguchi R, Wang Q, Tang M, Donahue R, Meng H, Zhang Y, Jacobi A, Yan W, Yin J, Cai X, Yang Z, Hegarty S, Stanicka J, Dmitriev P, Taub D, Zhu J, Woolf CJ, Sanes JR, Geschwind DH, He Z.
Neuron
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Identification of novel neuroprotectants against vincristine-induced neurotoxicity in iPSC-derived neurons.
Authors: Authors: Petrova V, Snavely AR, Splaine J, Zhen S, Singh B, Pandey R, Chen K, Cheng A, Hermawan C, Barrett LB, Smith JA, Woolf C.
Res Sq
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Age-dependent small fiber neuropathy: Mechanistic insights from animal models.
Authors: Authors: Taub DG, Woolf CJ.
Exp Neurol
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Harmonized cross-species cell atlases of trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia.
Authors:
Sci Adv
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Nociceptor-immune interactomes reveal insult-specific immune signatures of pain.
Authors: Authors: Jain A, Gyori BM, Hakim S, Jain A, Sun L, Petrova V, Bhuiyan SA, Zhen S, Wang Q, Kawaguchi R, Bunga S, Taub DG, Ruiz-Cantero MC, Tong-Li C, Andrews N, Kotoda M, Renthal W, Sorger PK, Woolf CJ.
Nat Immunol
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