Rate My Professor Megan Corty

Megan Corty, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at The University of Arizona, where she began her tenure-track position in January 2024. She earned a B.A. in Human Biology with honors and university distinction from Stanford University in 2003, conducting undergraduate thesis research under Russell D. Fernald, Ph.D. She then obtained her Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Columbia University in 2011, studying dendrite morphogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster in the laboratory of Wesley B. Grueber, Ph.D. Following her graduate work, Dr. Corty served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Vollum Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, from October 2016 to December 2023, under the mentorship of Marc R. Freeman, Ph.D., where she investigated axon-glia interactions in the fly peripheral nervous system. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated strong commitments to education and service, creating and instructing courses such as "Communicating Neuroscience: Learning by Doing" at UMass Medical School (2015-2016), which earned her the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Contribution for Curricular Development, and "The Promise of Stem Cells" at the American Museum of Natural History (2011-2012). She has also coordinated the OHSU Glia Journal Club (2017-2023), served as ad hoc reviewer for Nature Communications and Genetics, and chaired the Gordon Research Seminar on Neural Development (2014).

The Corty lab employs Drosophila melanogaster to probe neuron-glia interactions in vivo, focusing on how and why glia ensheath axons, particularly non-myelinating wrapping in peripheral nerves, and the supportive roles of glia in axon physiology, structure, function, and health. This research holds potential for understanding glial contributions to nerve maintenance and regeneration. Key publications include "Drosophila glia take shape to sculpt the nervous system" (Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2023), "Glial TGFβ activity promotes neuron survival in peripheral nerves" (Journal of Cell Biology, 2023), "Discoidin domain receptor regulates ensheathment, survival, and caliber of peripheral axons" (Development, 2022), "Injury-induced inhibition of bystander neurons requires dSarm and signaling from glia" (Neuron, 2021), and "Dendritic diversification through transcription factor-mediated suppression of alternative morphologies" (Development, 2016). Dr. Corty’s honors include the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2007-2010), Stanford University Centennial Teaching Assistant Award (2004), Phi Beta Kappa induction (2003), Joshua Lederberg Award for Academic Excellence in Human Biology (2003), and Bernard and Estelle Shuer Award for Outstanding Neuroscience Research (2003).