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Douglas S. Portman, Ph.D.

Douglas S. Portman, Ph.D.

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Office (585) 275-7414
Fax (585) 276-1947
Administrative (585) 273-1749

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Portman URMC Lab Website

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About Me

Faculty Appointments

Professor - Department of Biomedical Genetics (SMD)

Donald M. Foster, MD Professorship in Biomedical Genetics - Department of Biomedical Genetics (SMD)

Professor - Department of Biology RC (RC) - Joint

Professor - Department of Neuroscience (SMD) - Joint

Credentials

Education

PhD | Univ of Pennsylvania. Molecular Biology and Genetics. 1995

BA with Honors, | Univ of Pennsylvania. Biochemistry. 1988

Research

Genetic Control of Sex Differences in Neurobiology and Disease

Though the existence of two sexes is a fundamental characteristic of nearly all animal species, the way biological sex brings about sex differences in the brain and behavior is poorly understood. Moreover, susceptibility to a host...
Genetic Control of Sex Differences in Neurobiology and Disease

Though the existence of two sexes is a fundamental characteristic of nearly all animal species, the way biological sex brings about sex differences in the brain and behavior is poorly understood. Moreover, susceptibility to a host of human neurological and mental health disorders is strongly influenced by sex, but in most cases the biological bases for these differences remain opaque. Our research uses a simple, experimentally tractable model system--the small soil nematode C. elegans--to shed light on the genetic underpinnings of sex differences in neural development, behavior, and disease susceptibility.

For more information, please visit the lab website at: https://www.portman-lab.org/

Publications

Journal Articles

Two C. elegans DM domain proteins, DMD-3 and MAB-3, function in late stages of male somatic gonad development.

Smith M, Lesperance M, Herrmann A, Vernooy S, Cherian A, Kivlehan E, Whipple L, Portman DS, Mason DA

Developmental biology.. 2024 October 514 :50-65. Epub 06/15/2024.

Behavioral evolution: No sex please, we're hermaphrodites.

Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2024 May 2034 (10):R501-R504. Epub 1900 01 01.

C. elegans males optimize mate-preference decisions via sex-specific responses to multimodal sensory cues.

Luo J, Bainbridge C, Miller RM, Barrios A, Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2024 March 2534 (6):1309-1323.e4. Epub 03/11/2024.

Developmental biology: A hole in the matrix.

Portman DS, Díaz-Balzac CA

Current biology : CB.. 2023 October 933 (19):R1016-R1018. Epub 1900 01 01.

males optimize mate-choice decisions via sex-specific responses to multimodal sensory cues.

Luo J, Barrios A, Portman DS

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology.. 2023 April 8 Epub 04/08/2023.

Sex-specificity of the C. elegans metabolome.

Burkhardt RN, Artyukhin AB, Aprison EZ, Curtis BJ, Fox BW, Ludewig AH, Palomino DF, Luo J, Chaturbedi A, Panda O, Wrobel CJJ, Baumann V, Portman DS, Lee SS, Ruvinsky I, Schroeder FC

Nature communications.. 2023 January 1914 (1):320. Epub 01/19/2023.

Reprogramming the topology of the nociceptive circuit in C. elegans reshapes sexual behavior.

Pechuk V, Goldman G, Salzberg Y, Chaubey AH, Bola RA, Hoffman JR, Endreson ML, Miller RM, Reger NJ, Portman DS, Ferkey DM, Schneidman E, Oren-Suissa M

Current biology : CB.. 2022 October 2432 (20):4372-4385.e7. Epub 09/07/2022.

Sex-specific, pdfr-1-dependent modulation of pheromone avoidance by food abundance enables flexibility in C. elegans foraging behavior.

Luo J, Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2021 October 2531 (20):4449-4461.e4. Epub 08/25/2021.

Dynamic, Non-binary Specification of Sexual State in the C. elegans Nervous System.

Lawson HN, Wexler LR, Wnuk HK, Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2020 September 2130 (18):3617-3623.e3. Epub 07/23/2020.

C. elegans Males Integrate Food Signals and Biological Sex to Modulate State-Dependent Chemosensation and Behavioral Prioritization.

Wexler LR, Miller RM, Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2020 July 2030 (14):2695-2706.e4. Epub 06/11/2020.

Social and sexual behaviors in : the first fifty years.

Portman DS

Journal of neurogenetics.. 2020 34 (3-4):389-394. Epub 11/04/2020.

Nature's gift to neuroscience.

Alcedo J, Jin Y, Portman DS, Prahlad V, Raizen D, Rapti G, Xu XZS, Zhang Y, Wu CF

Journal of neurogenetics.. 2020 34 (3-4):223-224. Epub 1900 01 01.

The Makorin and the lncRNA regulate to schedule sexual maturation of the nervous system.

Lawson H, Vuong E, Miller RM, Kiontke K, Fitch DH, Portman DS

eLife.. 2019 July 28 Epub 07/02/2019.

Neural networks mapped in both sexes of the worm.

Portman DS

Nature.. 2019 July 571 (7763):40-42. Epub 1900 01 01.

The Long Non-Coding RNA lep-5 Promotes the Juvenile-to-Adult Transition by Destabilizing LIN-28.

Kiontke KC, Herrera RA, Vuong E, Luo J, Schwarz EM, Fitch DHA, Portman DS

Developmental cell.. 2019 May 2049 (4):542-555.e9. Epub 04/04/2019.

Timing mechanism of sexually dimorphic nervous system differentiation.

Pereira L, Aeschimann F, Wang C, Lawson H, Serrano-Saiz E, Portman DS, Großhans H, Hobert O

eLife.. 2019 January 18 Epub 01/01/2019.

A Single-Neuron Chemosensory Switch Determines the Valence of a Sexually Dimorphic Sensory Behavior.

Fagan KA, Luo J, Lagoy RC, Schroeder FC, Albrecht DR, Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2018 March 1928 (6):902-914.e5. Epub 03/08/2018.

Sexual Dimorphism and Sex Differences in Neuronal Development and Behavior.

Barr MM, García LR, Portman DS

Genetics.. 2018 March 208 (3):909-935. Epub 1900 01 01.

Sexual modulation of sex-shared neurons and circuits in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Portman DS

Journal of neuroscience research.. 2017 January 295 (1-2):527-538. Epub 1900 01 01.

Neural circuits for sexually dimorphic and sexually divergent behaviors in Caenorhabditis elegans.

García LR, Portman DS

Current opinion in neurobiology.. 2016 June 38 :46-52. Epub 03/03/2016.

Neurobiology: Wired for sex.

Portman DS

Nature.. 2016 May 12533 (7602):188-9. Epub 05/04/2016.

Neuter No More: Fly Stem Cells Know Their Sex.

Portman DS, Biteau B

Cell stem cell.. 2016 April 718 (4):429-30. Epub 1900 01 01.

Sex, age, and hunger regulate behavioral prioritization through dynamic modulation of chemoreceptor expression.

Ryan DA, Miller RM, Lee K, Neal SJ, Fagan KA, Sengupta P, Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2014 November 324 (21):2509-17. Epub 10/16/2014.

Sexual modulation of neural circuits and behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Fagan KA, Portman DS

Seminars in cell & developmental biology.. 2014 September 33 :3-9. Epub 06/14/2014.

Distributed effects of biological sex define sex-typical motor behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Mowrey WR, Bennett JR, Portman DS

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.. 2014 January 2934 (5):1579-91. Epub 1900 01 01.

Sex differences in behavioral decision-making and the modulation of shared neural circuits.

Mowrey WR, Portman DS

Biology of sex differences.. 2012 March 213 :8. Epub 03/21/2012.

The Wnt/beta-catenin asymmetry pathway patterns the atonal ortholog lin-32 to diversify cell fate in a Caenorhabditis elegans sensory lineage.

Miller RM, Portman DS

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.. 2011 September 1431 (37):13281-91. Epub 1900 01 01.

Multiple doublesex-related genes specify critical cell fates in a C. elegans male neural circuit.

Siehr MS, Koo PK, Sherlekar AL, Bian X, Bunkers MR, Miller RM, Portman DS, Lints R

PloS one.. 2011 6 (11):e26811. Epub 11/01/2011.

Specific alpha- and beta-tubulin isotypes optimize the functions of sensory Cilia in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Hurd DD, Miller RM, Núñez L, Portman DS

Genetics.. 2010 July 185 (3):883-96. Epub 04/26/2010.

A latent capacity of the C. elegans polycystins to disrupt sensory transduction is repressed by the single-pass ciliary membrane protein CWP-5.

Miller RM, Portman DS

Disease models & mechanisms.. 2010 3 (7-8):441-50. Epub 03/11/2010.

dmd-3, a doublesex-related gene regulated by tra-1, governs sex-specific morphogenesis in C. elegans.

Mason DA, Rabinowitz JS, Portman DS

Development.. 2008 August 135 (14):2373-82. Epub 06/11/2008.

Neural sex modifies the function of a C. elegans sensory circuit.

Lee K, Portman DS

Current biology : CB.. 2007 November 617 (21):1858-63. Epub 10/25/2007.

Genetic control of sex differences in C. elegans neurobiology and behavior.

Portman DS

Advances in genetics.. 2007 59 :1-37. Epub 1900 01 01.

Profiling C. elegans gene expression with DNA microarrays.

Portman DS

WormBook : the online review of C. elegans biology.. 2006 January 20 :1-11. Epub 01/20/2006.

Toward the computable transcriptome.

Portman DS, Bohmann D

Molecular cell.. 2004 June 1814 (6):693-4. Epub 1900 01 01.

Identification of C. elegans sensory ray genes using whole-genome expression profiling.

Portman DS, Emmons SW

Developmental biology.. 2004 June 15270 (2):499-512. Epub 1900 01 01.

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors LIN-32 and HLH-2 function together in multiple steps of a C. elegans neuronal sublineage.

Portman DS, Emmons SW

Development.. 2000 December 127 (24):5415-26. Epub 1900 01 01.

YRA1, an essential Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, encodes a novel nuclear protein with RNA annealing activity.

Portman DS, O'Connor JP, Dreyfuss G

RNA.. 1997 May 3 (5):527-37. Epub 1900 01 01.

Cell type-specific expression of hnRNP proteins.

Kamma H, Portman DS, Dreyfuss G

Experimental cell research.. 1995 November 221 (1):187-96. Epub 1900 01 01.

RNA annealing activities in HeLa nuclei.

Portman DS, Dreyfuss G

The EMBO journal.. 1994 January 113 (1):213-21. Epub 1900 01 01.

The hnRNP proteins.

Görlach M, Burd CG, Portman DS, Dreyfuss G

Molecular biology reports.. 1993 August 18 (2):73-8. Epub 1900 01 01.