Trent Watkins, PhD

Title(s)Assistant Professor, Neurology
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address675 Nelson Rising Lane, #214A
San Francisco CA 94158
Phone415-514-4168
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0001-6723-3712 Additional info
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    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse Education and Training
    Genentech, Inc, South San Francisco, CAPostdocNeuroscience
    Stanford UniversityPhDNeuroscience
    University of California at BerkeleyABMolecular and Cell Biology
    Collapse Awards and Honors
    University of California at San Francisco2023Distinguished Professorship in Neurology

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse Overview
    The Watkins Lab seeks to harness intrinsic repair programs to restore function to the damaged and diseased nervous system. Using axon injury as a primary model, the lab's research focuses on the signaling pathways and transcriptional responses that determine the fates of distressed neurons. These responses include programs that can, in the case of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), enable remarkable axon regeneration and recovery of function. In the central nervous system (CNS), however, these same programs typically fail to overcome barriers to regeneration and instead can become major drivers of neurodegeneration. Understanding and controlling these stress signaling pathways and transcriptional programs therefore may generate opportunities for both neuroprotection and improved repair.

    The Watkins Lab relocated in 2023 from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to the Division of Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology at UCSF. This move offers promising new opportunities for collaborative studies to understand the interplay among intrinsic neuronal stress responses, neuroinflammation, and myelin repair.

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Research Activities and Funding
    Proximity Multi-omics of Transcription Factor Dimers in Neurodegeneration
    CHAN-ZUCKERBERG INITIATIVE NDCN NDCN Collaborative Suppl.#2021-239233Dec 1, 2021 - Nov 30, 2022
    Role: Co-PI
    Transcription Factor Crosstalk in the Control of Neurodegeneration after CNS Axon Injury
    TIRR FOUNDATION MISSION CONNECT #021-107Oct 25, 2021 - Mar 31, 2024
    Role: PI
    Neuronal responses to chronic demyelination
    NIH R01NS120981Apr 1, 2021 - Jan 31, 2026
    Role: Co-Investigator
    Promoting Neuronal Death to Mitigate Widespread Neurodegeneration
    CHAN-ZUCKERBERG INITIATIVE NDCN NDCN Collaborative Pairs #2020-221477Dec 1, 2020 - May 31, 2022
    Role: Co-PI
    MOLECULAR DISSECTION OF THE AXONAL INJURY RESPONSE FOR REGENERATION AND NEUROPROTECTION
    NIH R01NS112691Apr 1, 2020 - Mar 31, 2025
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Stress Signaling in the Survival and Repair of RGCs
    BRIGHTFOCUS FOUNDATION Glaucoma Grant 1 G2019332Jul 1, 2019 - Jun 30, 2022
    Role: PI
    The integrated stress response in cognitive disorders
    NIH R01NS076708Mar 15, 2012 - Mar 31, 2026
    Role: Co-Investigator

    Collapse ORNG Applications 
    Collapse Featured Publications

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. DLK-MAPK Signaling Coupled with DNA Damage Promotes Intrinsic Neurotoxicity Associated with Non-Mutated Tau. Mol Neurobiol. 2023 Nov 13. Li S, Roy ER, Wang Y, Watkins T, Cao W. PMID: 37955806.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    2. Remyelination protects neurons from DLK-mediated neurodegeneration. bioRxiv. 2023 Oct 12. Duncan GJ, Ingram SD, Emberley K, Hill J, Cordano C, Abdelhak A, McCane M, Jabassini N, Ananth K, Ferrara SJ, Stedelin B, Sivyer B, Aicher SA, Scanlan T, Watkins TA, Mishra A, Nelson J, Green AJ, Emery B. PMID: 37873342; PMCID: PMC10592610.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    3. Coordinated stimulation of axon regenerative and neurodegenerative transcriptional programs by Atf4 following optic nerve injury. bioRxiv. 2023 Mar 31. Somasundaram P, Farley MM, Rudy MA, Stefanoff DG, Shah M, Goli P, Heo J, Wang S, Tran NM, Watkins TA. PMID: 37034690; PMCID: PMC10081193.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    4. Modeling Alzheimer's disease in primary neurons reveals DNA damage response coupled with MAPK-DLK signaling in wild-type tau-induced neurodegeneration. Res Sq. 2023 Mar 07. Li S, Roy ER, Wang Y, Watkins T, Cao W. PMID: 36945524; PMCID: PMC10029119.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    5. DLK-dependent mitochondrial fission drives axon degeneration and neuronal cell death. bioRxiv. 2023 Feb 01. Jorge GJ, Nebiyou M, Alkaslasi MR, Somasundaran P, Slavutsky AL, Ward ME, Watkins TA, Le Pichon CE. PMID: 36778383; PMCID: PMC9915495.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    6. Therapeutic opportunities and pitfalls in the treatment of axon degeneration. Curr Opin Neurol. 2018 12; 31(6):693-701. Simon DJ, Watkins TA. PMID: 30320612.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    7. Intrinsic Neuronal Stress Response Pathways in Injury and Disease. Annu Rev Pathol. 2018 01 24; 13:93-116. Farley MM, Watkins TA. PMID: 29414247.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 23     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    8. Dual leucine zipper kinase-dependent PERK activation contributes to neuronal degeneration following insult. Elife. 2017 04 25; 6. Larhammar M, Huntwork-Rodriguez S, Jiang Z, Solanoy H, Sengupta Ghosh A, Wang B, Kaminker JS, Huang K, Eastham-Anderson J, Siu M, Modrusan Z, Farley MM, Tessier-Lavigne M, Lewcock JW, Watkins TA. PMID: 28440222; PMCID: PMC5404924.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 30     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    9. Myelinating cocultures of purified oligodendrocyte lineage cells and retinal ganglion cells. Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2014 Oct 01; 2014(10):pdb.top070839. Watkins TA, Scholze AR. PMID: 25275113.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    10. Myelinating cocultures of rat retinal ganglion cell reaggregates and optic nerve oligodendrocyte precursor cells. Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2014 Oct 01; 2014(10):pdb.prot074971. Watkins TA, Scholze AR. PMID: 25275100.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    11. JNK-mediated phosphorylation of DLK suppresses its ubiquitination to promote neuronal apoptosis. J Cell Biol. 2013 Sep 02; 202(5):747-63. Huntwork-Rodriguez S, Wang B, Watkins T, Ghosh AS, Pozniak CD, Bustos D, Newton K, Kirkpatrick DS, Lewcock JW. PMID: 23979718; PMCID: PMC3760612.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 76     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    12. DLK initiates a transcriptional program that couples apoptotic and regenerative responses to axonal injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Mar 05; 110(10):4039-44. Watkins TA, Wang B, Huntwork-Rodriguez S, Yang J, Jiang Z, Eastham-Anderson J, Modrusan Z, Kaminker JS, Tessier-Lavigne M, Lewcock JW. PMID: 23431164; PMCID: PMC3593899.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 170     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    13. ZFP191 is required by oligodendrocytes for CNS myelination. Genes Dev. 2010 Feb 01; 24(3):301-11. Howng SY, Avila RL, Emery B, Traka M, Lin W, Watkins T, Cook S, Bronson R, Davisson M, Barres BA, Popko B. PMID: 20080941; PMCID: PMC2811831.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 41     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    14. Differential clustering of Caspr by oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells. J Neurosci Res. 2009 Nov 15; 87(15):3492-501. Eisenbach M, Kartvelishvily E, Eshed-Eisenbach Y, Watkins T, Sorensen A, Thomson C, Ranscht B, Barnett SC, Brophy P, Peles E. PMID: 19565653.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    15. Myelin gene regulatory factor is a critical transcriptional regulator required for CNS myelination. Cell. 2009 Jul 10; 138(1):172-85. Emery B, Agalliu D, Cahoy JD, Watkins TA, Dugas JC, Mulinyawe SB, Ibrahim A, Ligon KL, Rowitch DH, Barres BA. PMID: 19596243; PMCID: PMC2757090.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 253     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    16. Distinct stages of myelination regulated by gamma-secretase and astrocytes in a rapidly myelinating CNS coculture system. Neuron. 2008 Nov 26; 60(4):555-69. Watkins TA, Emery B, Mulinyawe S, Barres BA. PMID: 19038214; PMCID: PMC2650711.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 166     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    17. NGF controls axonal receptivity to myelination by Schwann cells or oligodendrocytes. Neuron. 2004 Jul 22; 43(2):183-91. Chan JR, Watkins TA, Cosgaya JM, Zhang C, Chen L, Reichardt LF, Shooter EM, Barres BA. PMID: 15260955; PMCID: PMC2758239.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 149     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    18. Integrins as developmental switches. Nat Cell Biol. 2002 Nov; 4(11):E253-5. Watkins TA, Barres BA. PMID: 12415281.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    19. Nerve regeneration: regrowth stumped by shared receptor. Curr Biol. 2002 Oct 01; 12(19):R654-6. Watkins TA, Barres BA. PMID: 12361584.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    20. Combination of gene delivery and DNA vaccination to protect from and reverse Th1 autoimmune disease via deviation to the Th2 pathway. Immunity. 2001 Jul; 15(1):15-22. Garren H, Ruiz PJ, Watkins TA, Fontoura P, Nguyen LT, Estline ER, Hirschberg DL, Steinman L. PMID: 11485734.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    21. Regulatory mechanisms of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Mol Cell Biochem. 1999 Mar; 193(1-2):19-22. Alvarez-Gonzalez R, Watkins TA, Gill PK, Reed JL, Mendoza-Alvarez H. PMID: 10331633.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Cells
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