Gregory Cox

Education

  • B.S. in Biology–Cellular/Molecular, Humboldt State University, 1989
  • Ph.D. in Human Genetics, University of Michigan, 1994

Biosketch

My collaborative research program with Dr. Robert Burgess at The Jackson Laboratory takes advantage of the power of mouse genetics to understand the mechanisms of neuromuscular disease. This information is used to understand the normal function of genes and pathways necessary for motor neuron and skeletal muscle function as well as the processes that go awry in inherited diseases.

Research Interests

The long term goals of this research are to identify molecular pathways necessary for the normal function and survival of motor neurons and their skeletal muscle targets. Muscular dystrophies and motor neuron diseases collectively have a high impact on health, affecting tens of thousands of people in the United States alone. The diseases are characterized by weakness and progressive wasting of muscles eventually leading to paralysis and death. We have chosen to focus on the resources available at The Jackson Laboratory in the form of spontaneous and induced models of neuromuscular disease as our starting point for gene discovery and functional analysis. This phenotype-driven approach ensures that the mutant genes we identify are critical for the normal development and/or maintenance of motor neurons and skeletal muscles.

Selected Publications

  • Holbrook SE, Hicks AN, Martin PB, Hines TJ, Castro HP, Cox GA. 2024. Clinically relevant mouse models of severe spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1. Human Molecular Genetics, 33(20):1800-1814.
  • Hung HC, Costas-Insua C, Holbrook SE, Stauffer JE, Martin PB, Müller TA, Schroeder DG, Kigoshi-Tansho Y, Xu H, Rudolf R, Cox GA, Joazeiro CAP. 2024. Poly-alanine-tailing is a modifier of neurodegeneration caused by Listerin mutation. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 24:2024.08.24.608776.
  • Martin PB, Hicks AN, Holbrook SE, Hines TJ, Bogdanik LP, Burgess RW, Cox GA. 2023. Clinically relevant mouse models of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2S. Human Molecular Genetics, 32(8):1276-1288.
  • Murray GC, Bais P, Hatton CL, Tadenev ALD, Hoffmann BR, Stodola TJ, Morelli KH, Pratt SL, Schroeder D, Doty R, Fiehn O, John SWM, Bult CJ, Cox GA, Burgess RW. 2022. Mouse models of NADK2 deficiency analyzed for metabolic and gene expression changes to elucidate pathophysiology. Human Molecular Genetics, 31(23):4055-4074.
  • Thrun A, Garzia A, Kigoshi-Tansho Y, Patil PR, Umbaugh CS, Dallinger T, Liu J, Kreger S, Patrizi A, Cox GA, Tuschl T, Joazeiro CAP. 2021. Convergence of mammalian RQC and C-end rule proteolytic pathways via alanine tailing. Mol Cell. 81(10): 2112-2122.
  • Chennampally P, Sayed-Zahid A, Soundararajan P, Sharp J, Cox GA, Collins SD, Smith RL. 2021. A microfluidic approach to rescue ALS motor neuron degeneration using rapamycin. Sci Rep. 11(1):18168.
  • Martin PB, Kigoshi-Tansho Y, Sher RB, Ravenscroft G, Stauffer JE, Kumar R, Yonashiro R, Müller T, Griffith C, Allen W, Pehlivan D, Harel T, Zenker M, Howting D, Schanze D, Faqeih EA, Almontashiri NAM, Maroofian R, Houlden H, Mazaheri N, Galehdari H, Douglas G, Posey JE, Ryan M, Lupski JR, Laing NG, Joazeiro CAP and Cox GA. 2020. NEMF mutations that impair ribosome-associated quality control are associated with neuromuscular disease. Nat Commun. 11(1):4625.
  • Sayed-Zahid AA, Sher RB, Sukoff Rizzo SJ, Anderson LC, Patenaude KE, Cox GA. 2019. Functional rescue in a mouse model of congenital muscular dystrophy with megaconial myopathy. Human Molecular Genetics, 28(16):2635-2647.
  • Morelli KH, Seburn KL, Schroeder DG, Spaulding EL, Dionne LA, Cox GA, Burgess RW. 2017. Severity of Demyelinating and Axonal Neuropathy Mouse Models Is Modified by Genes Affecting Structure and Function of Peripheral Nodes. Cell Rep. 18(13): 3178-3191.
  • Demers CJ, Soundararajan P, Chennampally P, Cox GA, Briscoe J, Collins SD, Smith RL. 2016. Development-on-chip: in vitro neural tube patterning with a microfluidic device. Development. 143: 1884-1892.
  • Coley WD, Bogdanik L, Vila MC, Yu Q, van der Meulen JH, Rayavarapu S, Novak JS, Nearing M, Quinn JL, Saunders A, Dolan C, Andrews W, Lammert C, Austin A, Partridge TA, Cox GA, Lutz C, Nagaraju K. 2016. Effect of genetic background on the dystrophic phenotype in mdx mice. Hum Mol Genet. 25:130-145.
  • Fairfield H, Srivastava A, Ananda G, Liu R, Kircher M, Lakshminarayana A, Harris BS, Karst SY, Dionne LA, Kane CC, Curtain M, Berry ML, Ward-Bailey PF, Greenstein I, Byers C, Czechanski A, Sharp J, Palmer K, Gudis P, Martin W, Tadenev A, Bogdanik L, Pratt CH, Chang B, Schroeder DG, Cox GA, Cliften P, Milbrandt J, Murray S, Burgess R, Bergstrom DE, Donahue LR, Hamamy H, Masri A, Santoni FA, Makrythanasis P, Antonarakis SE, Shendure J, Reinholdt LG. 2015. Exome sequencing reveals pathogenic mutations in 91 strains of mice with Mendelian disorders. Genome Res. 25:948-957.
  • Sher RB, Heiman-Patterson TD, Blankenhorn EA, Jiang J, Alexander G, Deitch JS, Cox GA. 2014. A major QTL on mouse chromosome 17 resulting in lifespan variability in SOD1-G93A transgenic mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotroph Lateral Scler. 15(7-8):588-600.

Dissertation Students

Paige Martin

Ambreen Sayed