Kunes Receives Tenure in Biology

Loeb Professor of the Natural Sciences Samuel L. Kunes, an expert in the field of vision and the brain, accepted tenure in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology last month.

Kunes' studies on the common fruit fly, drosophilia melanogaster, showed for the first time that some instructive signals for vision can be generated in the eye instead of in the brain.

His current research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying this precise neural circuitry.

Before coming to Harvard in 1993, Kunes was a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Harvard offered him tenure in December of last year.

He said his most important accomplishment has been his observations on the role of proteins transported along electrical-impulse transmitting axons in the development of the nervous system.

According to Hong Yang, a graduate student in Kunes' lab, Kunes solved an old question in the field of molecular biology concerning the communication between the eye and visual centers of the brain. Kunes proved how signaling molecules known as Hedgehog and Spitz transmit signals through the eye and affect brain development.

Throughout his career, Kunes has also employed innovative laboratory techniques for the exploration of visual systems in the fruit fly. Kunes is one of the first researchers to use a process called Confocal microscopy to represent eye tissues in the fruit fly.

His original work includes several recent publications on the subject of retina axons.

Kunes currently teaches three classes in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department, including "Molecular Genetics of Neuronal Development."

His lab employs two post-doctoral fellows, two graduate students and two rotation students.

Members of his lab said Kunes fosters a particularly interactive environment.

"It's a dynamic lab, and the people are nice," said Hong Yang, a graduate student who works in Kunes' lab. "I have learned a lot from him. He's very good at what he does and very ingenious."

"In Sam's lab I have the freedom to explore whatever interests me," Yang added. "Everyone in the lab and other colleagues would agree. I've always felt that Sam offers a lot of encouragement and help along the way."

In addition to his research projects, Kunes participates in the Harvard University Pre-College Outreach Program, which offers weekly lectures to high school students preparing for the Advanced Placement biology exam.

The father of two small children, Kunes said he spends most of his time outside the lab with his family.