James Monaghan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, sits down with the College of Science Graduate Program staff to talk about his research at Northeastern University.

Could you tell us about your current research?

The goal of our research is to understand how some animals regenerate missing or diseased tissues while other animals, namely humans, do not. We aim to discover which cell types and genes guide the regeneration process with the ultimate goal of impacting the development of therapies to enhance regeneration. Axolotl salamanders are particularly useful for this research because they can regenerate tissues better than practically all other animals with a spinal cord (vertebrates). For example, limb amputation anywhere from the shoulder to the hand in the axolotl will lead to a completely new replica of the missing limb. We are trying to answer some obvious problems that are fundamental to the regeneration process such as:

“How does the limb know how much tissue to grow back”?

“How do cells transition from a specialized behavior, like the skin or muscle, to a highly proliferative regenerating structure”?

“What molecules induce regeneration and support cell division”?

What drew you to your field?

When I was entering graduate school, I was really interested in the field of development biology. I was interviewing at graduate programs when my future PhD advisor told me that he was just funded to study spinal cord regeneration in a salamander. A portion of every speeding ticket in Kentucky (I went to the University of Kentucky) went towards research in traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. I was never really into herpetology, but the question of how animals regenerate seemed really cool! I jumped all in from that point forward. Who knew I would have a room full of these salamanders years later? I feel lucky to have happened upon such an interesting area of study.

What do you like most about being a faculty member at Northeastern?

I really enjoy the collaborative nature of Northeastern. Collaborations with NU faculty have significantly expanded my research program in ways I would have never expected when I started as a faculty. For example, we are trying to visualize neural activity in real time using nanosensors developed by the lab of Dr. Heather Clark, study mammalian retinal stem cell regeneration with Dr. Rebecca Carrier’s lab, and understand the biomechanics of joint regeneration with Dr. Sandra Shefelbine’s lab. I think it would be hard for me to find colleagues at another university with such excitement to take an interdisciplinary approach to studying tissue regeneration. This type of collaborative environment really makes it fun to research.

What is your favorite part about Northeastern?

I am always impressed with the drive students have to perform important research. At both the graduate and undergraduate level, students really want to make significant contributions to the field and want to engage in their education. Working with an inquisitive and excited student makes my job a lot of fun. I can talk science all day (and night) and I’m lucky to be surrounded with people that also have the same excitement.

What is your favorite part about Boston?

I really enjoy the big-city feel of Boston, while still being relatively small. Maybe it’s because I was raised in the Midwest, but I love all the public transportation. I like having the freedom to jump on a bus or train to go most anywhere I want in the city. It also doesn’t hurt that Boston is one of the best places in the world to do science.

What advice would you give to new and current COS graduate students?

Have a long memory for your successes and a short memory for your failures. It’s not worth putting too much emotional energy into an experiment that fails. Just think of how to improve it and continue moving forward.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I went to Space Camp at Kennedy Space Center as a little kid, which is hilarious if you are near my age and saw the movie Space Camp.