Justin Wolter, PhD

Position title: Assistant Professor, Medical Genetics

PhD, Arizona State

Contact Information

Genetics Biotechnology Center Building
425 Henry Mall, Room 5302A
Madison, WI 53706
wolter4@wisc.edu
The Wolter Lab

Research Statement

My primary scientific interest is how genetic variation shapes brain development. By leveraging my training in genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, and neurodevelopment, my lab is studying how genetic variation – both common and rare – alters neurodevelopment, and in turn influences risk and resilience to neurological disorders. This broad interest has led me to study several neurological disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, and ataxia. There are many common features across these disorders, allowing us to develop tools and resources that can be applied broadly to understanding underlying molecular deficiencies. In the past several years my work has focused on two questions: 1. How does common genetic variation affect molecular and cellular phenotypes in autism spectrum disorder, and 2. What neurodevelopmental processes predispose a neuron to neurodegenerative insult, and what pathways do cells employ to survive? To answer these questions we use both human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and classic genetic mouse models, and technologies such as massively parallel cell culture, single cell RNA–sequencing, and proteomics.

Selected Publications

PubMed

Xing, L., Simon, J. M., Ptacek, T. S., Yi, J. J., Loo, L., Mao, H., Wolter, J. M., McCoy, E. S., Paranjape, S. R., Taylor-Blake, B., & Zylka, M. J. (2023). Autism-linked UBE3A gain-of-function mutation causes interneuron and behavioral phenotypes when inherited maternally or paternally in mice. Cell reports, 42(7), 112706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112706
Santorelli, F. M., McLoughlin, H. S., Wolter, J. M., Galatolo, D., Synofzik, M., Mengel, D., Opal, P., & AGI-WG2-Biomarkers Study Group (2023). Standards of Fluid Biomarker Collection and Pre-analytical Processes in Humans and Mice: Recommendations by the Ataxia Global Initiative Working Group on Biomarkers. Cerebellum (London, England), 10.1007/s12311-023-01561-1. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-023-01561-1
Matoba, N., Le, B. D., Valone, J. M., Wolter, J. M., Mory, J., Liang, D., Aygün, N., Broadaway, K. A., Bond, M. L., Mohlke, K. L., Zylka, M. J., Love, M. I., & Stein, J. L. (2023). Wnt activity reveals context-specific genetic effects on gene regulation in neural progenitors. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2023.02.07.527357. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.07.527357
Wolter, J. M., Le, B. D., Matoba, N., Lafferty, M. J., Aygün, N., Liang, D., Courtney, K., Song, J., Piven, J., Zylka, M. J., & Stein, J. L. (2023). Cellular Genome-wide Association Study Identifies Common Genetic Variation Influencing Lithium-Induced Neural Progenitor Proliferation. Biological psychiatry, 93(1), 8–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.08.014
Lafferty, M. J., Aygün, N., Patel, N. K., Krupa, O., Liang, D., Wolter, J. M., Geschwind, D. H., de la Torre-Ubieta, L., & Stein, J. L. (2023). MicroRNA-eQTLs in the developing human neocortex link miR-4707-3p expression to brain size. eLife, 12, e79488. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.79488
Romano, L. E. L., Aw, W. Y., Hixson, K. M., Novoselova, T. V., Havener, T. M., Howell, S., Taylor-Blake, B., Hall, C. L., Xing, L., Beri, J., Nethisinghe, S., Perna, L., Hatimy, A., Altadonna, G. C., Graves, L. M., Herring, L. E., Hickey, A. J., Thalassinos, K., Chapple, J. P., & Wolter, J. M. (2022). Multi-omic profiling reveals the ataxia protein sacsin is required for integrin trafficking and synaptic organization. Cell reports, 41(5), 111580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111580
Wolter, J. M., Jimenez, J. A., Stein, J. L., & Zylka, M. J. (2022). ToxCast chemical library Wnt screen identifies diethanolamine as an activator of neural progenitor proliferation. FASEB bioAdvances, 4(7), 441–453. https://doi.org/10.1096/fba.2021-00163
Liang, D., Elwell, A. L., Aygün, N., Krupa, O., Wolter, J. M., Kyere, F. A., Lafferty, M. J., Cheek, K. E., Courtney, K. P., Yusupova, M., Garrett, M. E., Ashley-Koch, A., Crawford, G. E., Love, M. I., de la Torre-Ubieta, L., Geschwind, D. H., & Stein, J. L. (2021). Cell-type-specific effects of genetic variation on chromatin accessibility during human neuronal differentiation. Nature neuroscience, 24(7), 941–953. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00858-w