Jonathan Bird

Jonathan Bird, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department: MD-PHARMACOLOGY / THERAPEUTICS
Business Phone: (352) 294-8633
Business Email: j.bird@ufl.edu

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2019-2021
GMS6551 Fundamentals of Medical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
2020,2022-2023
PAS5026 Pharmacotherapeu 2
2019-2024
DEN6262 Prin of Pharmacology
2018
GMS7979 Advanced Research
2021,2023-2024
GMS6070 Sensory and Motor Systems
2022
MDU4002 Introduction to Medical Science Seminar 2
2023-2024
BMS6031 Foundations of Med
2024
GMS6009 Principles of Drug Action and Therapeutics

Research Profile

The Bird Lab is interested in how myosin molecular motors generate force on actin filaments and how defects in this fundamental cytoskeletal mechanism cause human disease. Dr. Bird studies this question using hair cells, the neural receptors for hearing and balance that are found within the inner ear. Hair cells transduce sounds and accelerations using actin-based stereocilia that protrude from their surface. The loss of stereocilia and hair cells, due to noise exposure, ototoxic drugs and aging, is a significant cause of permanent hearing impairment that is estimated to affect more than 360 million people worldwide (1).

Myosin motors are critical for hair cell sensory transduction, with mutations in no fewer than six classes of myosin genes (I, II, III, VI, VII & XV) causing hearing loss. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, the Bird Lab is investigating how myosin motors regulate molecular trafficking within stereocilia and how this ultimately controls actin dynamics and stereocilia architecture. The lab combines data from experiments with mutant animal models, cutting-edge microscopy in live cells, and purified proteins in biochemical and single molecule assays. These studies are expected to reveal the detailed mechanisms for how stereocilia mechanosensors are assembled and maintained, and they will inform the wider goal to therapeutically enhance repair processes to promote healthy, lifelong hearing.

References: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs300/en/

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0001-5531-8794

Publications

2023
Large-scale annotated dataset for cochlear hair cell detection and classification.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. [DOI] 10.1101/2023.08.30.553559. [PMID] 37693382.
2023
The actin cytoskeleton in hair bundle development and hearing loss.
Hearing research. 436 [DOI] 10.1016/j.heares.2023.108817. [PMID] 37300948.
2022
DNMT3A Harboring Leukemia-Associated Mutations Directs Sensitivity to DNA Damage at Replication Forks
Clinical Cancer Research. 28(4):756-769 [DOI] 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-2863.
2022
Myosin motors in sensory hair bundle assembly
Current Opinion in Cell Biology. 79 [DOI] 10.1016/j.ceb.2022.102132. [PMID] 36257241.
2022
Structural basis for tunable control of actin dynamics by myosin-15 in mechanosensory stereocilia
Science Advances. 8(29) [DOI] 10.1126/sciadv.abl4733. [PMID] 35857845.
2021
Actin at stereocilia tips is regulated by mechanotransduction and ADF/cofilin.
Current biology : CB. 31(6):1141-1153.e7 [DOI] 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.006. [PMID] 33400922.
2021
The ATPase mechanism of myosin 15, the molecular motor mutated in DFNB3 human deafness
Journal of Biological Chemistry. 296 [DOI] 10.1074/jbc.ra120.014903.
2020
Mechanotransduction-Dependent Control of Stereocilia Dimensions and Row Identity in Inner Hair Cells.
Current biology : CB. 30(3):442-454.e7 [DOI] 10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.076. [PMID] 31902726.
2018
Author Correction: Defective Gpsm2/Gαi3 signalling disrupts stereocilia development and growth cone actin dynamics in Chudley-McCullough syndrome.
Nature communications. 9 [DOI] 10.1038/ncomms16188. [PMID] 29799026.
2018
Author response: Bipolar filaments of human nonmuscle myosin 2-A and 2-B have distinct motile and mechanical properties
. [DOI] 10.7554/elife.32871.046.
2018
Bipolar filaments of human nonmuscle myosin 2-A and 2-B have distinct motile and mechanical properties
eLife. 7 [DOI] 10.7554/elife.32871.
2017
Defective Gpsm2/Gαi3 signalling disrupts stereocilia development and growth cone actin dynamics in Chudley-McCullough syndrome.
Nature communications. 8 [DOI] 10.1038/ncomms14907. [PMID] 28387217.
2017
Harnessing molecular motors for nanoscale pulldown in live cells.
Molecular biology of the cell. 28(3):463-475 [DOI] 10.1091/mbc.E16-08-0583. [PMID] 27932498.
2016
Heritability of non-speech auditory processing skills.
European journal of human genetics : EJHG. 24(8):1137-44 [DOI] 10.1038/ejhg.2015.277. [PMID] 26883091.
2016
Mutational Spectrum of MYO15A and the Molecular Mechanisms of DFNB3 Human Deafness.
Human mutation. 37(10):991-1003 [DOI] 10.1002/humu.23042. [PMID] 27375115.
2015
Author response: The 133-kDa N-terminal domain enables myosin 15 to maintain mechanotransducing stereocilia and is essential for hearing
. [DOI] 10.7554/elife.08627.019.
2015
Live-cell imaging of actin dynamics reveals mechanisms of stereocilia length regulation in the inner ear.
Nature communications. 6 [DOI] 10.1038/ncomms7873. [PMID] 25898120.
2015
The 133-kDa N-terminal domain enables myosin 15 to maintain mechanotransducing stereocilia and is essential for hearing
eLife. 4 [DOI] 10.7554/elife.08627.
2014
Chaperone-enhanced purification of unconventional myosin 15, a molecular motor specialized for stereocilia protein trafficking.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111(34):12390-5 [DOI] 10.1073/pnas.1409459111. [PMID] 25114250.
2010
Actin-bundling protein TRIOBP forms resilient rootlets of hair cell stereocilia essential for hearing.
Cell. 141(5):786-98 [DOI] 10.1016/j.cell.2010.03.049. [PMID] 20510926.
2010
Supporting cells eliminate dying sensory hair cells to maintain epithelial integrity in the avian inner ear.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 30(37):12545-56 [DOI] 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3042-10.2010. [PMID] 20844149.

Grants

Jan 2024 ACTIVE
Exploring the Biophysical Landscape of Tip Density Biomolecular Condensates in Mechanosensory Stereocilia
Role: Other
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIDCD
Sep 2021 – Aug 2023
Significance of Myo7a isoforms in hair cell function
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: UNIV OF VIRGINIA via NATL INST OF HLTH NIDCD
Jul 2020 ACTIVE
Molecular Mechanisms of Hair Bundle Development and Maintenance
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIDCD

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 294-8633
Emails:
Business:
j.bird@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 100267
GAINESVILLE FL 32610
Business Street:
1200 NEWELL DR
GAINESVILLE FL 32610