title: The need to connect: on the cell biology of synapses, behaviors, and networks in science.
abstract: My laboratory is interested in the cell biology of the synapse. Synapses, which are points of cellular communication between neurons, were first described by Santiago Ramón y Cajal as "protoplasmic kisses that appear to constitute the final ecstasy of an epic love story." Who would not want to work on that?! My lab examines the biological mechanisms neurons use to find and connect to each other. How are synapses formed during development, maintained during growth, and modified during learning? In this essay, I reflect about my scientific journey to the synapse, the cell biological one, but also a metaphorical synapse-my role as a point of contact between the production of knowledge and its dissemination. In particular, I discuss how the architecture of scientific networks propels knowledge production but can also exclude certain groups in science.
authors: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510; Instituto de Neurobiología, Recinto de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00901 daniel.colon-ramos@yale.edu.
authors: Daniel A
authors: DA
authors: Colón-Ramos
mesh_terms: D001363:Awards and Prizes; D002450:Cell Communication; D008611:Mentors; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D012106:Research; D012586:Science; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology