Dr. Chun Han from Cornell University 

Abstract: Resident phagocytes in the nervous system are known to
engulf neuronal debris after neuronal apoptosis or neurite
degeneration. The mechanisms and biological significance of
phagocytosis of neurons in neurodevelopment and
neurodegeneration are still poorly understood. By using
Drosophila somatosensory dendrites and phagocytic
epidermal cells as a model to study phagocytosis of neurons,
we demonstrated that phosphatidylserine (PS) is a potent
“eat-me” signal that can trigger engulfment of neurons and
drive neurodegeneration. In this talk, I would like to discuss
our recent findings on the roles of PS-mediated phagocytosis
in neurodegeneration and the mechanisms for its
recognition by phagocytes. In addition, I would like to
discuss two CRISPR-based techniques my lab developed for
achieving tissue- and cell-specific gene knockout in
Drosophila.