Fabienne E. Poulain
                  Principal Investigator
                     fpoulain@mailbox.sc.edu

​Dr. Poulain is  originally from France and obtained her PhD from the University Paris 6-Pierre et Marie Curie,  studying  the roles of microtubule-regulating proteins stathmins in neuronal morphogenesis. She became convinced that  observing axon growth directly in the embryo in vivo would provide invaluable insights on how axons integrate different signals  from the environment to navigate properly. She  joined  the laboratories  of Drs. Chi-Bin Chien  and Joseph Yost at the University of Utah  to study the roles of Heparan sulfate proteoglycans in axon guidance in vivo in zebrafish.  Her work led  to  the discovery that selective axon degeneration is an essential correction mechanism that establishes topographic ordering of retinal axons during development. She also developed new transplant approaches and trasngenic lines to study retinal axon pathfinding and topographic map formation.

---

---

​Olivia Spead
Graduate student
spead@email.sc.edu

Olivia obtained her B.S. in Biology from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina, with minors in chemistry and neuroscience. Her research experience as an undergraduate student motivated her to pursue a PhD in neurosciences at USC. She joined the Poulain lab in 2016 and is studying the roles of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in axon guidance and developmental degeneration. 

Cory Weaver
  Post-doc
weaverc7@mailbox.sc.edu

Cory Weaver obtained in PhD in cellular neurobiology from Purdue University in Indiana. His graduate work focused on characterizing the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neurodevelopment in zebrafish. With his strong knowledge and expertise in hands, Cory is now studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for dystonia-16, a devastating locomotor disease.

Quill Thomas
Zebrafish facility manager
cmt2@email.sc.edu

Quill Thomas obtained his B.S. in biology from the University of South Carolina. He recently joined the lab to share his technical expertise and take care of the zebrafish facility. 

---

---

Leila Nguyen
Undergraduate student

---

---

ALUMNI

---

Post-docs

Dr. Tine Verreet (​Research Associate, KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research)

Undergraduate students

Kate Roge-Jones (MUSC)
Izlen Peksenar
Joshua Wiltse
Brianna Hegarty (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Bradley Brodie (MUSC)
Madison Boylan (Medical School, Mercer University)
​Ryan Woodard (Medical School, UofSC)
​Rosemary Neigenfield

Zebrafish facility managers

Cory Donelson
Brian Wheeler