{"id":8824,"date":"2026-02-19T10:25:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/?p=8824"},"modified":"2026-05-11T08:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:54:18","slug":"building-connections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/2026\/02\/19\/building-connections\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Connections: Travis Rotterman Uses the Spinal Cord as a Bridge into the Human World"},"content":{"rendered":"
Assistant Professor Travis Rotterman studies CNS function and malfunction in rodents to understand human systems.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h5>\n

By Danny Giancioppo, Photo by Jackie Ricciardi, Figures provided by the Rotterman Group<\/em><\/p>\n

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Travis Rotterman (CAMED) poses for a photo on September 30, 2025. He is a recipient of this years Career Development Professorship.
Photo by Jackie Ricciardi for Boston University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Growing up working on a farm, the lab might seem a lifetime away. The world may instead be centered around strenuous physical effort, community, and\u2013\u2013of course\u2013\u2013small-town sports. At least, this was the case for <\/span>Assistant Professor Travis Rotterman (Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics)<\/span><\/a>, who discovered at an early age his interest in how the body moves and what may disrupt motor function. From there, his view of the world, as well as his place in it, broadened.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI always had an inclination toward science and engineering,\u201d Rotterman says, despite not initially aiming to pursue a career in it. \u201cI grew up in a really rural place, so I spent a lot of time immersed in the woods. I think that\u2019s where my love for biology, specifically, started.\u201d After years of farming, Rotterman claims he \u201cknew [he] did not want to farm for the rest of [his] life,\u201d and so higher education was the natural step toward a new path.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a former athlete, Rotterman\u2019s fascination with postural stability and speed, among other physical attributes, led to an interest in sports medicine. Following enrollment in Wright State University, he found himself in a spinal cord lab in a pre-med program, during which time he both discovered a passion for the research and that not everything about the pre-med path was for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI quickly realized I don\u2019t want to work with patients directly,\u201d he explains. \u201cSo I was able to get involved in this research lab. I didn\u2019t know anything going into it, but I had a really good mentor who was able to guide me in my academic career path. I fell in love with research at that point, and took off from there. Having that undergraduate research experience is what really locked me into the career path that I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That path has led him to running his own <\/span>research group<\/span><\/a> at Boston University, in which he studies Central Nervous System (CNS) and spinal cord function. In the Rotterman Lab, the goals range from understanding neural circuit connectivity and function to advancing treatment methods. In dealing with a part of the body that is both life giving, and if injured, life altering, this makes sense, as Rotterman feels it is a majorly important research focus.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Postnatal day 8 (p8) spinal cord with a ventral root retrograde fill to label spinal motoneurons (white). Immunohistochemical labeling for calbindin (a calcium buffering protein) to identify a spinal inhibitory interneuron.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou end up with an injury you\u2019re living with for the rest of your life,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is incredibly debilitating and has a drastic impact on your quality of life.\u201d Other diseases, he continues, such as ALS or Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, can be fatal, and with limited treatment options.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Minimal treatment options can stem from a lack of neurogenesis\u2013\u2013or naturally growing stem cells\u2013\u2013in fully developed brain regions. After an area of the brain is damaged, in other words, it can be difficult to repair. Yet, while the CNS is not adept at self-repair, there remains a sizable potential for plasticity in the brain and brain function. Reading braille, for example, requires a certain distinguishing skill that those who are visually impaired may have more aptitude for than those who are not. This is where Rotterman\u2019s lab optimizes its research goals; specifically, with rodent brains.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a physiology lab,\u201d Rotterman says. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at whole-animal, whole-system function. While we\u2019re studying [the] spinal cord or motor control, we\u2019re interested in the context of the entire animal.\u201d Doing so helps address neural circuit connectivity and function in normal states, so as to better tackle injuries and malfunctions as they appear. \u201cWe have to have a better understanding of how things work normally to understand how to address them in injury and disease.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While there are limitations to rodent models, they have a majorly homologous gene structure to humans: from cell pathways, to ion channels, to neurotransmitters, with an 85-90% similarity rate. How certain connections cause sensory motor function can vary, but the fundamental reflexes and operation are quite similar. As the Rotterman lab\u2019s research is more invasive, dissecting and studying rodent spinal cords allows the lab to take a more in-depth look at the CNS without having to invade the human spinal cord. By manipulating circuits, activating or suppressing neurons of interest, and undergoing dedicated physiological investigations (among other practices), rodent brains prove a robust vehicle for understanding and modulating CNS function.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Spinal cord section with spinal motoneurons labeled with choline acetyl transferace (ChAT, blue) and primary afferents labeled with a genetically encoded fluorescent protein, mCherry (red) under the vesicular glutamate transporter isoflorm 1 (VGluT1) promoter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another arm of the lab, Rotterman explains, is interested in the translational aspects under the umbrella of neuropathy: peripheral nerve injury, inherited peripheral neuropathy, and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, to name a few. When peripheral nerves\u2013\u2013such as those in the limbs\u2013\u2013are damaged, it impacts central connectivity as well. In addressing these maladaptive changes between sensory and motor neurons, the lab aims to enhance the treatment of CNS injuries as more widespread throughout the body.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the name of the game is to prevent maladaptive injury and nerve function. \u201cUltimately, how do we prevent maladaptive changes from occurring?\u201d Rotterman says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to find ways to prevent maladaptive plasticity and also promote normal sensory motor function in disease and injuries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally, these research interests fall into place with one another; yet it\u2019s not just their own lab goals that align. One of Rotterman\u2019s leading causes for coming to Boston University was for its variety of expertise and convergent research opportunities. Having started in April of 2025, Rotterman\u2019s focus has been on getting his research group established, slowly building collaborations outside the lab\u2013\u2013both at Medical and Charles River campuses.<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular, Rotterman has begun working with <\/span>Dr. Lauren Brown<\/span><\/a> (CHEM) at the <\/span>Center for Molecular Discovery<\/span><\/a>. Their shared interest in a certain ion channel has already allowed them to begin to work together to diagnose and modulate said channel\u2019s activity and serves as a solid example of what Rotterman hopes to achieve with future collaborations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rotterman has also expressed interest in a future collaboration with <\/span>Dr. Tuan Leng Tay<\/span><\/a> (BIO), an expert in glial biology. \u201cA lot of the injuries and diseases that I\u2019ve mentioned have this neuroinflammation component,\u201d Rotterman says. \u201cYou damage these circuits or connections, and you have this rapid glial response in the nervous system. That\u2019s something we\u2019re interested in exploring further, because we think these reactions are what’s driving a lot of the synaptic changes we see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, <\/span>Dr. Nikolaos Daskalakis<\/span><\/a> (MED) was hired through the school of medicine as a high-level expert in computational neuroscience and biomarker analysis\u2013\u2013tools which Rotterman and team would love to work with as a \u201cbridge into the human world.\u201d A potential collaboration could allow Rotterman to utilize sample biomarkers to express what genes might be \u201cturned on\u201d or molecular targets that are dysregulated in patients with disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Spinal microglia cells (white) surveying the surface of a retrogradely labeled motoneuron (blue) in the adult spinal cord.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This interdisciplinary preference for research extends to graduate students, as well. In Rotterman\u2019s own words, \u201cbroad is good,\u201d when it comes to prospective lab members.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we are a team of four, including a lab manager, two PhD students, and an undergraduate researcher,\u201d Rotterman says. With neuroscience, physiology, and research tech backgrounds currently on board, as well as an undergraduate, there may be a preference for neuroscience, but it\u2019s not at all required. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely open-minded to anybody who could bring value and hopefully get a good experience in the lab.\u201d Computer Science majors, he says, are also instrumental for their unique quantitative approaches, which other researchers may not have.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing,\u201d Rotterman says, \u201cis that we\u2019re open and hoping to building some interdisciplinary collaborations across different departments and between campuses. We\u2019ve been focused on us to get established, but I think we\u2019ve made a lot of progress since I got here in April! I just hope to spread the word that this is what we do, and if there\u2019s something we can help with, we\u2019re definitely interested in building new connections.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assistant Professor Travis Rotterman studies CNS function and malfunction in rodents to understand human systems. By Danny Giancioppo, Photo by Jackie Ricciardi, Figures provided by the Rotterman Group Growing up working on a farm, the lab might seem a lifetime away. The world may instead be centered around strenuous physical effort, community, and\u2013\u2013of course\u2013\u2013small-town sports. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22337,"featured_media":8832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8824"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22337"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8824"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8932,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8824\/revisions\/8932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/neurophotonics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}