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Feliks (Ephraim) Trakhtenberg, PhDAssociate Professor, Neuroscience
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Education
Post-Graduate Training
Awards
| Degree | Institution | Major |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | Sofia University (Palo Alto, CA) | Psychology |
| MS | Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA) | Biology |
| PhD | University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine (Thesis, Jeffrey L. Goldberg Lab) | Neuroscience |
Post-Graduate Training
| Training | Institution | Specialty |
|---|---|---|
| Research Assistant | Stanford University, Dept. of Psychiatry/Behavioral Sciences, de Lecea Lab | Research Assistant: Neuroscience |
| Postdoctoral | Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, Benowitz Lab | AHA Research Fellow: Neuroscience |
Awards
| Name of Award/Honor | Awarding Organization |
|---|---|
| Grant Award R01 on the project titled "Nfe2l3-regulated mechanisms of retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection and optic nerve axon regeneration" | National Institutes of Health's Eye Institute (NIH-NEI) |
| Grant Award R01 on the project titled "Small non-coding RNAs regulate retinal ganglion cell maturation" | National Institutes of Health's Eye Institute (NIH-NEI) |
| Researcher grantee Spotlight recognition | BrightFocus Foundation, National Glaucoma Research Program (MD, USA) |
| Faculty Spotlight recognition for Research Excellence | UConn Health |
| Promising Project Award, in collaboration with Dr. Rouge, on the project titled "Nanocapsule-delivered therapeutics for treating optic neuropathies" | Program in Innovative Therapeutics for Connecticut’s Health (PITCH) |
| Artificial Intelligence Molecular Screen (AIMS) Award | Atomwise Inc (San Francisco, CA) |
| Research Excellence Program Grant Award, with Dr. Wu co-PI | UConn School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine |
| 1st Place Award for research solution, team presentation, Interstellar Initiative for Early Career Investigators | New York Academy of Sciences; Japan Agency for Medical Research Development |
| Grant Award, with Dr. Crocker co-PI, on the project titled "A Novel approach for attenuating myelin-associated inhibition of axon regeneration following CNS injury” | Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBaCS) |
| Grant Award on the project titled "The molecular mechanisms of retinal ganglion cell axon growth and regeneration" | BrightFocus Foundation, National Glaucoma Research Program (MD, USA) |
| Best Innovation Idea Award | Harvard Healthcare Innovation and Commercialization Course, HMS |
| Post-Doctoral Fellowship (15POST25080290) | AHA |
| Selected for The Early Stage Investigator Grant Proposal Mentoring Session | International Stroke Conference, AHA |
| Junior Investigators Travel Award | International Stroke Conference, AHA |
| Lois Pope Best Research Award | Lois Pope Foundation |
| Members-in-Training Outstanding Poster Award Finalist | Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Conference |
| Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (11PRE7310069) | AHA |
| The Medical Faculty Association Travel Award | Margaret Whelan Graduate Student Scholarship Fund |
| Honorary membership award in the AAAS Program for Excellence in Science | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| Pre-Doctoral Training Grant (T32NS007459) | NIH |
| Lois Pope Life Fellowship for Neuroscience Research | Lois Pope Foundation |
| Name & Description | Category | Role | Type | Scope | Start Year | End Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DoD Vision Research Program | Study Section | Reviewer | External | National | 2021 | |
| NIH, Special Emphasis Panel: Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience | Study Section | Reviewer | External | National | 2020 | |
| Nature Communications | Professional/Scientific Journal | Reviewer | External | International | 2019 | |
| NASA Space Biology Program | Study Section | Reviewer | External | National | 2018 | |
| IOVS | Professional/Scientific Journal | Reviewer | External | International | 2018 | |
| Graduate Program Admissions Committee | Advisory Committee | Interviewer | UConn Health | University | 2017 | |
| Scientific Reports | Professional/Scientific Journal | Reviewer | External | International | 2017 | |
| PLOS One | Professional/Scientific Journal | Reviewer | External | International | 2017 | |
| Medical/Graduate Program Admissions Committee | Advisory Committee | Interviewer | UConn Health | University | 2017 | |
| Journal of Ophthalmology | Professional/Scientific Journal | Reviewer | External | International | 2015 | |
| Neuropharmacology | Professional/Scientific Journal | Reviewer | External | International | 2014 | |
| American Heart Association | Professional/Scientific Organization | Member | External | National | 2012 | |
| Society for Neuroscience | Professional/Scientific Organization | Member | External | International | 2007 |
NEUROREGENERATION LAB
Our goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms of neuronal development and regeneration, and to utilize gained knowledge in developing translational approaches for repairing injured central nervous system (CNS) circuits. Several species of lower vertebrates have the capacity to regenerate and repair the injured CNS. However, in mammals the ability for CNS self-repair is lost during maturation.
The failure of the CNS to regenerate is a major unmet clinical problem, which limits recovery of functions after brain injury, spinal cord injury, white matter stroke, and optic neuropathies. For example, these injuries could disrupt the long distance axonal connections between neurons, and lead to disabilities such as paralysis or blindness.
The model system we use to tackle this problem is an injury to the optic nerve in rodents, which is an accepted model of human traumatic optic neuropathy. Furthermore, the approaches which could regenerate axons in this circuit have the potential to repair other CNS circuits as well.
Due to the proprietary nature of the research projects in our lab, detailed information about the research program and rotation projects for PhD students is not available publicly. If you are interested in neuroregeneration research, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Trakhtenberg to learn more about open rotation projects.
See lab website for more details: http://health.uconn.edu/neuroregeneration-lab
Accepting Lab Rotation Students: Fall Block 2026, Spring 1 and 2 Block 2027
Lab rotation projects revolve around fundamental questions in neuronal development and regeneration in the CNS. We integrate cutting edge molecular, biochemical, genetic, bioinformatics, and translational approaches. Rotation projects involve the following techniques:
--Histology and neuroanatomical analysis using confocal microscopy
--Rodent CNS in vivo injury models and gene therapy
--Neuronal cell culture and transfection
--Next Generation Sequencing and Neuro-Bioinformatics
See lab website for more details: http://health.uconn.edu/neuroregeneration-lab/labrotations
Due to the proprietary nature of the research projects in our lab, detailed information about the research program and rotation projects for PhD students is not available publicly. If you are interested in neuroregeneration research, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Trakhtenberg to learn more about open rotation projects.
Journal Articles
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Targeting neurodevelopmental miR132-3p promotes neuroprotection and axon regeneration after optic nerve injury in mice.
Brain research 2026 Jul;150450. *Corresponding author.
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Vacuolar ATPase subunit Atp6v0c transgene promotes neuroprotection and long-distance axon regeneration in injured retinal ganglion neurons.
Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids 2026 Jun;37(2):102922. *Corresponding author.
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Experimental upregulation of Lancl1 promotes axon regeneration after optic nerve injury in vivo.†
Experimental neurology 2026 Apr;115789.*Corresponding author. †Issue Cover Page article.
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Single-cell transcriptomics-enabled advances in experimental optic nerve axon regeneration research.
In Bhattacharya. S.K. (Ed.): Proteomics, Multi-Omics and Systems Biology in Optic Nerve Regeneration; Elsevier. 2025 Jan;14:207-223
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Augmenting fibronectin levels in injured adult CNS promotes axon regeneration in vivo.†
Experimental neurology 2024 Jun;379:114877.*Corresponding author. †Issue Cover Page article.
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AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study.
Scientific reports, 2024 Apr;14(1):7526.
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Nfe2l3 promotes neuroprotection and long-distance axon regeneration after injury in vivo.†
Experimental neurology, 2024 Feb;375:114741.*Corresponding author. †Issue Cover Page article.
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Upregulation of developmentally-downregulated miR-1247-5p promotes neuroprotection and axon regeneration in vivo.
Neuroscience letters, 2024 Jan;137662. *Corresponding author.
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Retinal ganglion cell repopulation for vision restoration in optic neuropathy: a roadmap from the RReSTORe Consortium.
Molecular neurodegeneration, 2023 Sep;18(1):64.
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Experimental upregulation of developmentally downregulated ribosomal protein large subunits 7 and 7A promotes axon regeneration after injury in vivo.
Experimental neurology, 2023 Aug;368:114510. *Corresponding author.
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Premature axon-oligodendrocyte interaction contributes to stalling of experimental axon regeneration after injury to the white matter.
Neural Regeneration Research, 2023 Jul;19(3):469-470. *Corresponding author.
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CellTools algorithm for mapping scRNA-seq query cells to the reference dataset improves the classification of resilient and susceptible retinal ganglion cell types.
bioRxiv, 2023 Jun;464552. *Corresponding author.
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Transcriptomic profiling of retinal cells reveals a subpopulation of microglia/macrophages expressing Rbpms marker of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that confound identification of RGCs.
Brain Research, 2023 Apr;148377. *Corresponding author.
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The people behind the papers – Jian Xing, Agnieszka Lukomska, Bruce Rheaume and Ephraim Trakhtenberg.
Development, 2023 Apr;150 (8): dev201870.
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Experimental gene expression of developmentally downregulated Crmp1, Crmp4, and Crmp5 promotes axon regeneration and retinal ganglion cell survival after optic nerve injury.
Brain Research, 2023 Apr;1809: 148368. *Corresponding author.
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Pten inhibition dedifferentiates long-distance axon-regenerating intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells and upregulates mitochondria-associated Dynlt1a and Lars2.
Development, 2023 Apr;150(8): dev.201644. *Corresponding author.
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Post-injury born oligodendrocytes incorporate into the glial scar and contribute to the inhibition of axon regeneration.
Development, 2023 Mar;150(8): dev.201311. *Corresponding author.
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Developmentally upregulated transcriptional elongation factor a like 3 suppresses axon regeneration after optic nerve injury.
Neuroscience letters, 2021 Sep;765(20):136260. *Corresponding author.
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Corneal nonmyelinating Schwann cells illuminated by single-cell transcriptomics and visualized by protein biomarkers.
Journal of Neuroscience Research 2021 Jan;99(3):731-749
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Single cell transcriptome profiling of retinal ganglion cells identifies cellular subtypes.
Nature Communications, 2018 Jul;9(2759). *Corresponding author.
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The extent of extra-axonal tissue damage determines the levels of CSPG upregulation and the success of experimental axon regeneration in the CNS.
Scientific reports, 2018 Jun;8(1):9839. *Corresponding author.
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Zinc chelation and Klf9 knockdown cooperatively promote axon regeneration after optic nerve injury.
Experimental neurology, 2017 Oct;30022-29. *Corresponding author.
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Cell types differ in global coordination of splicing and proportion of highly expressed genes.
Scientific Reports, 2016 Aug;632249. *Corresponding author.
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Serotonin receptor 2C regulates neurite growth and is necessary for normal retinal processing of visual information.
Developmental Neurobiology, 2016 Mar;77419-437. *Co-corresponding authors.
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The N-terminal Set-β Protein Isoform Induces Neuronal Death.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2015 May;290(21):13417-26. *Co-corresponding authors.
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Inflammation and Optic Nerve Regeneration
Neuroinflammation: New Insights into Beneficial and Detrimental Functions, 2015 May;189-204
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Regulation of intrinsic axon growth ability at retinal ganglion cell growth cones.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2014 Jul;55(7):4369-77
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Regulating Set-β's Subcellular Localization Toggles Its Function between Inhibiting and Promoting Axon Growth and Regeneration.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2014 May;34(21):7361-74. *Co-corresponding authors.
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Soluble adenylyl cyclase activity is necessary for retinal ganglion cell survival and axon growth.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2012 May;32(22):7734-44
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Epigenetic regulation of axon and dendrite growth.
Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 2012 Jan;524. *Co-corresponding authors.
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The role of serotonin in axon and dendrite growth.
International Review of Neurobiology, 2012 Jan;106105-26. *Co-corresponding authors.
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β1 integrin-focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signaling modulates retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival.
PloS One, 2012 Jan;7(10):e48332
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Neuroimmune communication.
Science, 2011 Oct;334(6052):47-8
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The effects of guided imagery on the immune system: a critical review.
The International Journal of Neuroscience, 2008 Jun;118(6):839-55. *Corresponding author.
Books
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Axon Growth and Regeneration: Part I. Preface.
International Review of Neurobiology, 2012 Jan;105xi-xiii
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Axon Growth and Regeneration: Part II. Preface.
International Review of Neurobiology, 2012 Jan;106xi-xiii
Abstracts
| Title or Abstract | Type | Sponsor/Event | Date/Year | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental axon regeneration to treat optic neuropathies and injured CNS tracts | Talk | Northern Netherlands Diagnostic Radiology annual training: Nerve symposium | 2024 | Drachten, Netherlands. |
| MicroRNAs associated with maturation of retinal ganglion cells regulate survival and long-distance axon regeneration after optic nerve injury | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2023 | Washington, DC |
| A recombinant protein derived from a component of the extra-axonal environment promotes retinal ganglion cell survival and axon regeneration after injury in vivo | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2023 | Washington, DC |
| Combinatory approach for neuroprotection and nerve regeneration to treat optic neuropathies | Talk | University of Connecticut School of Medicine | 2023 | Farmington, CT |
| Basic Science Consideration recovery from brain/spine trauma (Panelist/Speaker) | Talk | Cutting Edge in Clinical Neuroscience Symposium | 2022 | Farmington, CT |
| Post-injury born oligodendrocytes integrate into the glial scar and inhibit growth of regenerating axons by premature myelination | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2022 | San Diego, CA |
| Developmentally regulated microRNAs play a role in retinal ganglion cell survival and axon regeneration after optic nerve injury | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2022 | San Diego, CA |
| Advances in Understanding Spinal Cord Injury and Recovery (Panelist/Speaker) | Talk | Cutting Edge in Clinical Neuroscience Symposium | 2021 | Farmington, CT |
| Implications of single cell transcriptome profiling of neuronal subtypes for studying neuroprotection and neuroregeneration | Talk | Neuroscience Seminar Series Sponsored by the Kim Family Fund | 2021 | Farmington, CT |
| Clinical potential of neuroplasticity and neuroregeneration research | Talk | Easterseals Trauma and Disabilities Clinic | 2017 | Windsor, CT |
| Axotomized adult retinal ganglion cells stimulated by extrinsic cues in a permissive environment survive and regenerate axons | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2017 | Washington, DC |
| Zinc chelation and Klf9 suppression synergistically enhance axon regeneration after CNS injury. | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2016 | San Diego, CA. |
| Repairing CNS circuitry: Set-ß as a bivalent regulator of axon regeneration. | Talk | University of Connecticut, School of Medicine, Dept. of Neuroscience | 2016 | Farmington, CT |
| Therapeutic nerve regeneration: Optic neuropathy (Finalist Poster). | Poster | Boehringer Ingelheim’s Innovation Partnering Day | 2015 | Boston, MA |
| Analysis of coding and non-coding transcripts during maturation of defined population of CNS neurons. | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2015 | Chicago, IL |
| Molecular therapy for optic nerve regeneration (Finalist Poster). | Poster | Early-Stage Life Sciences Technology Conference | 2015 | Boston, MA |
| Homeostatic maintenance of transcriptome differs between cell types. | Poster | Ann. Boston Children's Hosp., Harvard Med. Sch. Dr. J. Folkman Research Day | 2015 | Boston, MA. |
| Molecular therapy for nerve regeneration: Focus on the optic nerve (Finalist Poster). | Poster | Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day | 2015 | Boston, MA |
| Molecular mechanisms of axon regeneration in the CNS: Focus on the optic nerve. | Talk | Tel Aviv University, Sackler School of Medicine | 2015 | Tel-Aviv, Israel |
| RNA-seq characterization and differential expression analysis of polyadenylated and non-polyadenylated riboRNA-depleted transcripts during maturation of retinal ganglion cells. | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2014 | Washington, DC. |
| The roles of Set-ß in neuronal survival, axon growth and regeneration (Finalist Talk). | Talk | International Stroke Conference, AHA, The Early Stage Investigator Session | 2014 | San Diego, CA. |
| The role of Set-ß in CNS axon growth and regeneration. | Poster | International Stroke Conference, AHA | 2014 | San Diego, CA. |
| Set-ß as a bivalent regulator of axon regeneration. | Talk | Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital | 2014 | Boston, MA |
| Set-ß regulates axon growth and regeneration. | Poster | Annual SFN Convention | 2013 | San Diego, CA. |
| Subcellular localization-dependent effect of Set-ß on axon growth and regeneration. | Poster | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conf: Axon Guidance, Synapse and Regeneration | 2012 | NY |
| Set-ß modulates neurite growth in retinal ganglion cells in opposite ways, depending on its subcellular localization (Outstanding Poster Award Finalist). | Poster | Annual ARVO Convention | 2011 | Fort Lauderdale, FL. |
| Self-perceived quality of life scale: Theoretical framework and development. | Poster | Annual APA Convention | 2008 | Boston, MA |