Principal Investigator, Linus Pauling Institute
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Contact:
331 LPSC
541-737-6490
[email protected]
Dr. Maria Purice is an Assistant Professor at OSU whose research leverages the power of C. elegans to unravel how glia-neuron interactions influence aging, behavior, and neuroprotection in disease. Dr. Purice established a research program that uses single-cell resolution functional studies to uncover mechanisms underlying glial biology — a focus that took root during her PhD at Oregon Health & Science University, where early investigations into glial innate immune responses to nerve injury ignited her passion for the field. Most recently, Dr. Purice developed a comprehensive snRNA-seq atlas of C. elegans glial subtypes at Fred Hutch, providing valuable in vivo and computational tools to the scientific community. At OSU, Dr. Purice is committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and training the next generation of scientists.
Research Interests
Glial cells make up more than half of the cells in the human brain, but their function and role in disease remain largely unknown. The Purice lab investigates the intricate interactions between glial cells and neurons during aging and in age-associated disorders. Using C. elegans as a model system, the lab seeks to understand how these interactions become disrupted over the lifespan of the organism, and the molecular mechanisms underpinning these changes. We aim to understand how glia communicate with neurons, how aging affects glial physiology, how sexually dimorphic glia influence neuronal circuits and aging, and how environmental or dietary factors contribute to healthy aging. C. elegans offers a simplified nervous system, short lifespan, and advanced tools to measure healthspan and behavior. We employ a variety of tools such as molecular biology (including CRISPR-Cas9), genetics, high-throughput screens, snRNA-seq, and confocal and live-cell imaging.
Education
- B.S., Biology, University of Oregon
- Ph.D., Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University
- Postdoctoral fellowship, St. Jude Children’s Hospital
- Postdoctoral fellowship, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Featured Publications
Purice MD, Quitevis EJA, Manning RS, Severs LJ, Tran NT, Sorrentino V, Setty M, Singhvi A. (2023) Molecular heterogeneity of C. elegans glia across sexes. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2023.03.21.533668.
Purice MD, Severs LJ, Singhvi A. (2024) Glia in invertebrate models: insights from Caenorhabditis elegans. Adv Neurobiol. 39:19-49. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-64839-7_2.
Purice MD, Lago-Baldaia I, Fernandes VM, Singhvi A. (2025) Molecular profiling of invertebrate glia. Glia. 73(3):632-656. doi: 10.1002/glia.24623.
Purice MD, Ray A, Münzel EJ, Pope BJ, Park DJ, Speese SD, Logan MA. (2017). A novel Drosophila injury model reveals severed axons are cleared through a Draper/MMP-1 signaling cascade. Elife. 21;6:e23611. doi: 10.7554/eLife.23611.
Mackenzie IR, Nicholson AM, Sarkar M, Messing J, Purice MD, et al., (2017). TIA1 mutations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia promote phase separation and alter stress granule dynamics. Neuron. 95(4):808-816.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.025.