CNIDARIAN NEUROBIOLOGY
Layden Lab
The Layden Lab studies neural development in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Nematostella is an important emerging system because it is a robust model for studying mechanisms that regulate neurogenesis during development and regeneration. Understanding the similarities and differences in how developmental programs are redeployed during regeneration will provide critical clues necessary to better design regenerative therapies for biomedical applications.
Nematostella is also a cnidarian animal that possesses a nerve net rather than a central nervous system. Cnidarians (jellyfish, corals, sea anemones, hydras) are a phylogenetically pivotal group of animals because they are the closest relatives to the bilaterians (insects, annelids, mollusks, sea urchins, vertebrates). One characteristic of most bilaterians is the presence of a centralized nervous system. By investigating neurogenesis in cnidarians, we can infer the ancestral mechanisms that gave rise to and perhaps the evolutionary origin of the bilaterian central nervous system(s).
Herrera Lab
Former Members
Current Members
Michael Layden
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor
Michael is a cnidarian neurobiologist trained at the University of Oregon.
Jamie Havrilak
Laboratory Manager
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Layla Al-Shaer
Postdoctoral Researcher
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Minghe Cheng
Graduate Researcher
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Benjamin Danladi
Graduate Researcher
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Joshua November
Graduate Researcher
Mia Yagodich
Undergraduate Researcher
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Michael Alchaer
Undergraduate Researcher
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Emma Roesing
Undergraduate Researcher
Former Members
Labwork
Publications
Gavgani, F. M., Kraus, J. E. M., Al-Shaer, L., November, J., Seybold, A. C., Fournon-Berodia, I., Lerstad, B., Hausen, H., Layden, M. J., & Rentzsch, F. (2025). Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone. Current Biology, 35(24), 5955–5964.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.061
Graham, J. P., Castro, J. G., Werba, L. C., Amitrano, J., Fardone, L., Francis, K. P., Ramamurthi, A., Layden, M. J., McCarthy, H. O., & Gonzalez-Fernandez, T. (2025). Versatile cell penetrating peptide for multimodal CRISPR gene editing in primary stem cells. Advanced Functional Materials. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202501532
Leach, W. B., Babonis, L., Juliano, C. E., Nakanishi, N., Schnitzler, C. E., Steinmetz, P. R. H., & Layden, M. J. (2025). Discoveries and innovations in cnidarian biology at Cnidofest 2024. EvoDevo, 16(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13227-025-00247-5
Rogers, C. D., Amemiya, C., Arur, S., Babonis, L., Barresi, M., Bartlett, M., Behringer, R., Benham-Pyle, B., Bergmann, D., Blackman, B., Brown, C. T., Browne, B., Camacho, J., Chabu, C. Y., Chow, I., Cleaver, O., Cool, J., Dennis, M. Y., Dickinson, A. J., Di Talia, S., Frank, M., Gillmor, S., Haag, E. S., Hariharan, I., Harland, R., Husbands, A., Jerome-Majewska, L., Koenig, K., LaBonne, C., Layden, M., Lowe, C., Mani, M., Martik, M., McKown, K., Moens, C., Mosimann, C., Onyenedum, J., Reed, R., Rivera, A., Rokhsar, D., Royer, L., Rutaganira, F., Shahan, R., Sinha, N., Swalla, B., Van Norman, J. M., Wagner, D. E., Wikramanayake, A., Zebell, S., & Brady, S. M. (2024). Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology. Development, 151(3), dev202342. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.202342
Al-Shaer, L., Leach, W., Baban, N., Yagodich, M., Gibson, M. C., & Layden, M. J. (2023). Environmental and molecular regulation of asexual reproduction in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Royal Society Open Science, 10(6), 230152. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230152
Faltine-Gonzalez, D., Havrilak, J., & Layden, M. J. (2023). The brain regulatory program predates central nervous system evolution. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 8626. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35721-4
McCartin, L. J., Vohsen, S. A., Ambrose, S. W., Layden, M., McFadden, C. S., Cordes, E. E., McDermott, J. M., & Herrera, S. (2022). Temperature controls eDNA persistence across physicochemical conditions in seawater. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(12), 8629–8639. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c01672
Al-Shaer, L., Havrilak, J., & Layden, M. J. (2021). Nematostella vectensis as a model system. In A. Boutet & B. Schierwater (Eds.), Handbook of Marine Model Organisms in Experimental Biology: Established and Emerging (pp. 107–128). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003217503-7
Havrilak, J. A., Al-Shaer, L., Baban, N., Akinci, N., & Layden, M. J. (2021). Characterization of the dynamics and variability of neuronal subtype responses during growth, degrowth, and regeneration of Nematostella vectensis. BMC Biology, 19(1), 104. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-021-01038-9
Havrilak, J. A., & Layden, M. J. (2020). Reverse genetic approaches to investigate the neurobiology of the cnidarian sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. In S. Sprecher (Ed.), Brain Development (Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 2047, pp. 25–43). Humana. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9732-9_2
Faltine-Gonzalez, D. Z., & Layden, M. J. (2019). Characterization of nAChRs in Nematostella vectensis supports neuronal and non-neuronal roles in the cnidarian–bilaterian common ancestor. EvoDevo, 10, 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13227-019-0136-3
Havrilak, J. A., Faltine-Gonzalez, D., Wen, Y., Fodera, D., Simpson, A. C., Magie, C. R., & Layden, M. J. (2017). Characterization of NvLWamide-like neurons reveals stereotypy in Nematostella nerve net development. Developmental Biology, 431(2), 336–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2017.08.028
Layden, M. J., Johnston, H., Amiel, A. R., Havrilak, J., Steinworth, B., Chock, T., Röttinger, E., & Martindale, M. Q. (2016). MAPK signaling is necessary for neurogenesis in Nematostella vectensis. BMC Biology, 14, 61. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-016-0282-1
Layden, M. J., Rentzsch, F., & Röttinger, E. (2016). The rise of the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis as a model system to investigate development and regeneration. WIREs Developmental Biology, 5(4), 408–428. https://doi.org/10.1002/wdev.222
Baker, E. C., Layden, M. J., van Rossum, D. B., Kamel, B., Medina, M., Simpson, E., & Jegla, T. (2015). Functional characterization of cnidarian HCN channels points to an early evolution of Ih. PLOS ONE, 10(11), e0142730. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142730
Li, X., Martinson, A., Layden, M. J., Diatta, F., Sberna, A., Simmons, D., Martindale, M., & Jegla, T. (2015). Ether-a-go-go family voltage-gated K+ channels evolved in an ancestral metazoan and functionally diversified in a cnidarian–bilaterian ancestor. Journal of Experimental Biology, 218, 526–536. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.110080
Heckscher, E. S., Long, F., Layden, M. J., Chuang, C.-H., Manning, L., Richart, J., Pearson, J. C., Crews, S. T., Peng, H., Myers, E., & Doe, C. Q. (2014). Atlas-builder software and the eNeuro atlas: resources for developmental biology and neuroscience. Development, 141(12), 2524–2532. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.108720
Layden, M. J., & Martindale, M. Q. (2014). Non-canonical Notch signaling represents an ancestral mechanism to regulate neural differentiation. EvoDevo, 5, 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/2041-9139-5-30
Martinson, A. S., van Rossum, D. B., Diatta, F. H., Layden, M. J., Rhodes, S. A., Martindale, M. Q., & Jegla, T. (2014). Functional evolution of Erg potassium channel gating reveals an ancient origin for IKr. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(15), 5712–5717. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321716111
Layden, M. J., Röttinger, E., Wolenski, F. S., Gilmore, T. D., & Martindale, M. Q. (2013). Microinjection of mRNA or morpholinos for reverse genetic analysis in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. Nature Protocols, 8(5), 924–934. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2013.009
Reitzel, A. M., Herrera, S., Layden, M. J., Martindale, M. Q., & Shank, T. M. (2013). Going where traditional markers have not gone before: utility of and promise for RAD sequencing in marine invertebrate phylogeography and population genomics. Molecular Ecology, 22(11), 2953–2970. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12228
Wolenski, F. S., Layden, M. J., Martindale, M. Q., Gilmore, T. D., & Finnerty, J. R. (2013). Characterizing the spatiotemporal expression of RNAs and proteins in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. Nature Protocols, 8(5), 900–915. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2013.014
Layden, M. J., Boekhout, M., & Martindale, M. Q. (2012). Nematostella vectensis achaete-scute homolog NvashA regulates embryonic ectodermal neurogenesis and represents an ancient component of the metazoan neural specification pathway. Development, 139(5), 1013–1022. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.073221
Layden, M. J., Meyer, N. P., Pang, K., Seaver, E. C., & Martindale, M. Q. (2010). Expression and phylogenetic analysis of the zic gene family in the evolution and development of metazoans. EvoDevo, 1(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/2041-9139-1-12 (PubMed)
