Dr Ethan Scott

Ethan Scott

Position

Senior Lecturer

ARC Future Fellowship

Qualifications and Awards

Bachelor of Sciences with Honours and Distinction, UNC-Chapel Hill, 1996
Ph.D., Stanford University, 2002

Affiliations

Affiliate Research Fellow, Queensland Brain Institute
Member, Center for Marine Sciences
Co-Director, Australian Zebrafish Phenomics Facility

Contact Details

Location Room 620, Otto Hirschfeld Building (81), St Lucia Campus
Mail School of Biomedical Sciences,
The University of Queensland,
BNE, QUEENSLAND 4072
Website www.uq.edu.au/scottlab
Telephone +61 7 3346 9471
Facsimile +61 7 3365 1766
Email ethan.scott@uq.edu.au

Biography

I received my Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, where I studied the genetic mechanisms of transposition in  yeast. After this, I moved to the discipline of neuroscience and to the lab of Liqun Luo at Stanford University for my PhD. During the course of my work in the Luo lab, I used a range of GAL4/UAS technologies to study the development and anatomy of the visual system in Drosophila.  I found this approach to be exceptionally useful for targeting and manipulating neurons, and decided to adapt some of these techniques to the zebrafish model system during my postdoc with Herwig Baier at the University of California-San Francisco.  In my lab at the University of Queensland, I am to continuing this work to characterize both the structure and the behavioural function of selected neural circuits in zebrafish.

Research Interests

Our lab studies the role of the cerebellum in coordinating complex movements, and in driving motor learning.  Using the zebrafish model system, we have described complex motor behaviours (fast and slow swimming, escape, and prey capture), in terms of the coordinated movements among the fins and tail.  We are also laying the genetic groundwork for the controlled manipulation of targeted cerebellar circuits through the use of optogenetic tools.  Using these combined techniques, we aim to describe the patterns of cerebellar activity that are necessary and sufficient for coordinated movements and for motor learning. 
This work provides opportunities for undergraduate, honours, postgraduate, and postdoctoral research projects in a range of fields, including behaviour, neurophysiology, and technology development.

For more information on our research directions and projects, please visit the lab website at www.uq.edu.au/scottlab

Publications 

1. Phil McClenahan, Michael Troup, and Ethan K. Scott (2012). Fin-tail Coordination During Escape and Predatory Behavior in Larval Zebrafish. PLoS One. 7(2).
2. Joshua Simmich, Eric Staykov, and Ethan K. Scott (2012). Zebrafish as an appealing model system for optogenetics. Progress in Brain Research.  196: 145-162.
3. Thomas Burne, Ethan K. Scott, Bruno van Swinderen, Massimo Hilliard, Judith Reinhard, Charles Claudianos, Darryl Eyles, and John McGrath (2011). Big ideas for small brains: what can psychiatry learn from worms, flies, bees and fish? Molecular Psychiatry. 16: 7-16
4. Filippo Del Bene, Claire Wyart, Estuardo Robles, Amanda Tran, Loren Looger, Ethan K. Scott, Ehud Y. Isacoff, and Herwig Baier (2010). Filtering of visual information in the tectum by an identified neural circuit. Science. 330: 669-673.
5. Linda Nevin, Estuardo Robles, Herwig Baier, and Ethan K. Scott (2010). Focusing on optic tectum circuitry through the lens of genetics. BMC Biology. 8: 126
6. Shuichi Kani, Young-Ki Bae, Takashi Shimizu, Koji Tanabe, Chie Satoh, Mike Parsons, Ethan K. Scott, Shin-ichi Higashijimaand Masahiko Hibi (2010). Proneural gene-linked neurogenesis in zebrafish cerebellum. Developmental Biology. 343 (1-2): 1-17.
7. Claire Wyart, Filippo Del Bene, Erica Warp, Ethan K. Scott, Dirk Trauner, Herwig Baier and Ehud Isacoff (2009), Optogenetic dissection of a behavioural module in the vertebrate spinal cord. Nature. 461: 407-410.
8. Herwig Baier and Ethan K. Scott (2009). Optics and genetics cross paths in the zebrafish nervous system. Current Opinions in Neurobiology. 19(5): 553-560.
9. Ethan K. Scott and Herwig Baier (2009). The cellular architecture of the larval zebrafish tectum, as revealed by Gal4 enhancer trap lines. Frontiers in Neural Circuits. 3(13).
10. Ethan K. Scott (2009). The Gal4/UAS toolbox in zebrafish: New approaches for defining behavioral circuits. Journal of Neurochemistry. 110(2): 441-456.
11. Lisette A. Maddison, Jainjun Lu, Tristan Victoroff, Ethan K. Scott, Herwig Baier, and Wenbiao Chen. (2009). A gain-of-function screen in zebrafish identifies a guanylate cyclase with a role in neuronal degeneration. Molecular Genetics and Genomics. 281(5): 551-563.
12. Stephanie Szobota, Pau Gorostiza, Filippo Del Bene, Claire Wyart, Doris L. Fortin, Kate Kolstad, Orapim Tulyathan, Matthew Volgraf, Rika Numano, Holly Aaron, Ethan K. Scott, Richard Kramer, John Flannery, Herwig Baier, Dirk Trauner and Ehud Isacoff (2007). Remote control of neuronal activity with a light-gated glutamate receptor. Neuron. 54(4): 535-545.
13. Ethan K. Scott, Lindsay Mason, Aristides B. Arrenberg, Limor Ziv, Nathan J. Gosse, Tong Xiao, Neil C. Chi, Kazuhide Asakawa, Koichi Kawakami, and Herwig Baier (2007). Targeting neural circuitry in zebrafish using GAL4 enhancer trapping. Nature Methods. 4(4): 323-326.
14. Ethan K. Scott, John E. Reuter, and Liqun Luo (2003). Dendritic development of Drosophila high order visual system neurons is independent of sensory experience. BMC Neuroscience. 4:14.
15. Ethan K. Scott, John E. Reuter, and Liqun Luo (2003). Small GTPase Cdc42 Is Required for Multiple Aspects of Dendritic Morphogenesis. The Journal of Neuroscience. 23(8): 3118-3123.
16. John E. Reuter, Timothy N. Nardine, Andrea Penton, Pierre Billuart, Ethan K. Scott, Tadao Usui, Tadashi Uemura, and Liqun Luo (2003). A mosaic genetic screen for genes necessary for Drosophila mushroom body neuronal morphogenesis. Development 130(6): 1203-1213.
17. Ethan K. Scott, Thomas Raabe, and Liqun Luo (2002). Structure of the vertical and horizontal system neurons of the lobula plate in Drosophila. Journal of Comparative Neurology 454: 470-481.
18. Ethan K. Scott and Liqun Luo (2001). How do dendrites take their shape? Nature Neuroscience 4 (4): 359-365.
19. Ethan K. Scott, Tzumin Lee, and Liqun Luo (2001). enok encodes a Drosophila putative histone acetyltransferase required for mushroom body neuroblast proliferation. Current Biology 11: 99-104.

Grants

2012-2015               Australian Research Council 
                                   Future Fellowship
                                   Neural Mechanisms of Motor Learning
                                   $715,000 AUD
 
2011-2013                Australian Research Council
                                    Discovery Research Grant
                                    Sole CI - Cerebellar Output in Controlling Motor Coordination
                                    $300,000 AUD
 
2010                           University of Queensland
                                    Major Equipment and Infrastructure Grant
                                    CIA - Zebrafish Behavioural Suite
                                    $205,000 AUD
 
2010                           University of Queensland
                                    Major Equipment and Infrastructure Grant
                                    CIF - Zebrafish Housing Facility
                                    $309,000 AUD
 
2010                           University of Queensland
                                    Major Equipment and Infrastructure Grant
                                    CII - Scanscope system for virtual microscopy
                                    $280,000 AUD
 
2009                           University of Queensland
                                    Early Career Researcher Award
                                    $26,000 AUD
 
2008-2010                 NARSAD
                                    Young Investigator Award
                                    $60,000 USD
 
2003-2006                National Institutes of Health (USA)
                                    Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
                                    $150,000 USD
 
 
 
 

 

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