We study the dynamic epigenome in nervous system plasticity, aging, and disease.

Throughout our lives, our neurons retain a remarkable level of plasticity that facilitates learning, memory, and behavior. As animals encounter new sensory stimuli and learn complex behaviors, these experiences trigger changes in neuronal activity patterns that drive dynamic alterations to the transcriptome, epigenome, and the genome itself. In the Pollina lab, we aim to identify mechanisms of transcriptional control and epigenome integrity that preserve neuronal function over time and to understand how these mechanisms go awry in aging and neurological disease.