Christopher Gabel | Profiles RNS

Christopher V. Gabel, PhD

Associate Professor

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics

PhD, Harvard University
BA, Princeton University

Our research program is focused on the development and application of femtosecond laser surgery and optical neurophysiology to the study of the nervous system of the nematode worm C. elegans. Using tightly focused pulses from an ultrafast laser, we can ablate regions of biological tissue with submicron precision, making it possible to snip individual nerve fibers within an intact worm (Fig 1). This enables in vivo study of neural regeneration and dissection of neurocircuitry at a new level of resolution. A small transparent body, simple stereotyped nervous system and powerful genetic tools combined to make C. elegans an ideal model organism for this work. Femtosecond laser technology applied to this versatile and tractable system allows us to tackle fundamental questions in neural regeneration and function.

Associate Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics

Member
Boston University
Genome Science Institute

Graduate Medical Sciences Educator and Mentor (Primary Mentor of Graduate Students)
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

BU Research
NIH RePORTER Research

Comprehensive Multi-Neuron Imaging of Neurodegeneration in C. elegans
06/01/2023 - 05/31/2026 (PI)
Alzheimer's Association

Modulation of Cellular Metabolism to Maximize Neuronal Regeneration
07/17/2019 - 06/30/2024 (PI)
Comm. of Mass./Department of Public Health

Molecular Determination of in vivo Cellular Calcium Signaling During Nerve Damage and Regeneration
05/01/2016 - 04/30/2020 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
5R01NS077929-05

Molecular Determination of in vivo Cellular Calcium Signaling During Nerve Damage
05/01/2013 - 04/30/2016 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
5R01NS077929-03

C. elegans model for mammalian lesion-conditioned axon regeneration
09/01/2012 - 08/31/2015 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
5R21NS078580-02

Wedge-based approach for simultaneous multi-channel microscopy
10/01/2014 - 07/31/2015 (Subcontract PI)
Physical Sciences, Inc. NIH NIGMS
1R43GM112403-01

Title

Yr	Title	Project-Sub Proj	Pubs
2025	Exercise Protection of the Aging Nervous System: Defining Exercise Impact on Cell and System	1R21AG095865-01
2017	Molecular Determination of in vivo Cellular Calcium Signaling During Nerve Damage	5R01NS077929-05	5
2016	Molecular Determination of in vivo Cellular Calcium Signaling During Nerve Damage	4R01NS077929-04	5
2015	Molecular Determination of in vivo Cellular Calcium Signaling During Nerve Damage	5R01NS077929-03	5
2014	Molecular Determination of in vivo Cellular Calcium Signaling During Nerve Damage	5R01NS077929-02	5
2013	Molecular Determination of in vivo Cellular Calcium Signaling During Nerve Damage	1R01NS077929-01A1	5
2013	C. elegans model for mammalian lesion-conditioned axon regeneration	5R21NS078580-02	3
2012	C. elegans model for mammalian lesion-conditioned axon regeneration	1R21NS078580-01A1	3

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

Karakullukcu B, White H, Connor C, Gabel C. Global excitatory synchrony: Ketamine induces global common-mode excitatory network oscillation by decoupling key interneurons. bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 02.View Related Profiles.

Connor, Christopher
Gabel, Christopher

PMID: 40766714; PMCID: PMC12324439; DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.02.667727;

Carbonero D, Noueihed J, Gabel CV, Kramer MA, White JA. CaNetiCs - An Open-Source Toolbox for Standardized Dimensionality Reduction of Neuronal Calcium Activity. bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 01.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Noueihed, Jad
White, John

PMID: 40766727; PMCID: PMC12324516; DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.01.668030;

Chang AS, Mazuera L, Gabel CV, Connor CW. Anesthesia isn't sleep: The neuronal dynamics of immobility in isoflurane-anesthetized C. elegans differ from the activity patterns of previously established sleep-like quiescent states. PLoS One. 2025; 20(5):e0324323.View Related Profiles.

Chang, Andrew
Connor, Christopher
Gabel, Christopher

PMID: 40446059; PMCID: PMC12124738; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0324323;

Guo R, Yang Q, Chang AS, Hu G, Greene J, Gabel CV, You S, Tian L. EventLFM: event camera integrated Fourier light field microscopy for ultrafast 3D imaging. Light Sci Appl. 2024 Jun 26; 13(1):144. PMID: 38918363; PMCID: PMC11199625; DOI: 10.1038/s41377-024-01502-5;

Yadav DK, Chang AC, Grooms NWF, Chung SH, Gabel CV. O-GlcNAc signaling increases neuron regeneration through one-carbon metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans. Elife. 2024 Feb 09; 13.View Related Profiles.

Chang, Andrew
Gabel, Christopher
Yadav, Dilip Kumar
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 38334260; PMCID: PMC10857789; DOI: 10.7554/eLife.86478;

Chang AS, Wirak GS, Li D, Gabel CV, Connor CW. Measures of Information Content during Anesthesia and Emergence in the Caenorhabditis elegans Nervous System. Anesthesiology. 2023 Jul 01; 139(1):49-62.View Related Profiles.

Chang, Andrew
Connor, Christopher
Gabel, Christopher
Wirak, Gregory

PMID: 37027802; PMCID: PMC10266588; DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000004579;

Wirak GS, Florman J, Alkema MJ, Connor CW, Gabel CV. Age-associated changes to neuronal dynamics involve a disruption of excitatory/inhibitory balance in C. elegans. Elife. 2022 Jun 15; 11.View Related Profiles.

Connor, Christopher
Gabel, Christopher
Wirak, Gregory

PMID: 35703498; PMCID: PMC9273219; DOI: 10.7554/eLife.72135;

Shao W, Kilic K, Yin W, Wirak G, Qin X, Feng H, Boas D, Gabel CV, Yi J. Wide field-of-view volumetric imaging by a mesoscopic scanning oblique plane microscopy with switchable objective lenses. Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2021 Mar; 11(3):983-997.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Boas, David
Wirak, Gregory
Feng, Hui
Yin, Wenqing
Qin, Xiaodan

PMID: 33654671; PMCID: PMC7829172; DOI: 10.21037/qims-20-806;

Wirak GS, Gabel CV, Connor CW. Isoflurane Exposure in Juvenile Caenorhabditis elegans Causes Persistent Changes in Neuron Dynamics. Anesthesiology. 2020 09; 133(3):569-582.View Related Profiles.

Connor, Christopher
Gabel, Christopher
Wirak, Gregory

PMID: 32452864; PMCID: PMC7429306; DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000003335;

Awal MR, Wirak GS, Gabel CV, Connor CW. Collapse of Global Neuronal States in Caenorhabditis elegans under Isoflurane Anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 2020 07; 133(1):133-144.View Related Profiles.

Connor, Christopher
Gabel, Christopher
Wirak, Gregory
Awal, Mehraj

PMID: 32282426; PMCID: PMC7577177; DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000003304;

Showing 10 of 47 results. Show More

Song W, Matlock A, Fu S, Qin X, Feng H, Gabel CV, Tian L, Yi J. LED array reflectance microscopy for scattering-based multi-contrast imaging. Opt Lett. 2020 Apr 01; 45(7):1647-1650.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Feng, Hui

PMID: 32235964; PMCID: PMC7278208; DOI: 10.1364/OL.387434;

Harreguy MB, Marfil V, Grooms NWF, Gabel CV, Chung SH, Haspel G. Ytterbium-doped fibre femtosecond laser offers robust operation with deep and precise microsurgery of C. elegans neurons. Sci Rep. 2020 03 11; 10(1):4545. PMID: 32161333; PMCID: PMC7066168; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61479-0;

Cai H, Wang YL, Wainner RT, Iftimia NV, Gabel CV, Chung SH. Wedge prism approach for simultaneous multichannel microscopy. Sci Rep. 2019 11 28; 9(1):17795.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 31780755; PMCID: PMC6882912; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53581-9;

Wang G, Sun L, Reina CP, Song I, Gabel CV, Driscoll M. CED-4 CARD domain residues can modulate non-apoptotic neuronal regeneration functions independently from apoptosis. Sci Rep. 2019 09 16; 9(1):13315. PMID: 31527664; PMCID: PMC6746752; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49633-9;

Lee Y, Kim MT, Rhodes G, Sack K, Son SJ, Rich CB, Kolachalama VB, Gabel CV, Trinkaus-Randall V. Sustained Ca2+ mobilizations: A quantitative approach to predict their importance in cell-cell communication and wound healing. PLoS One. 2019; 14(4):e0213422.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Trinkaus-Randall, Vickery
Kolachalama, Vijaya

PMID: 31017899; PMCID: PMC6481807; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213422;

Badon A, Bensussen S, Gritton HJ, Awal MR, Gabel CV, Han X, Mertz J. Video-rate large-scale imaging with Multi-Z confocal microscopy. Optica. 2019 Apr 20; 6(4):389-395.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Mertz, Jerome
Awal, Mehraj
Han, Xue

PMID: 34504902; PMCID: PMC8425499; DOI: 10.1364/optica.6.000389;

Awal MR, Austin D, Florman J, Alkema M, Gabel CV, Connor CW. Breakdown of Neural Function under Isoflurane Anesthesia: In Vivo, Multineuronal Imaging in Caenorhabditis elegans. Anesthesiology. 2018 10; 129(4):733-743.View Related Profiles.

Connor, Christopher
Gabel, Christopher
Awal, Mehraj

PMID: 30004907; PMCID: PMC6148381; DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000002342;

Taub DG, Awal MR, Gabel CV. O-GlcNAc Signaling Orchestrates the Regenerative Response to Neuronal Injury in Caenorhabditis elegans. Cell Rep. 2018 08 21; 24(8):1931-1938.e3.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Taub, Daniel
Awal, Mehraj

PMID: 30134155

Cartoni R, Norsworthy MW, Bei F, Wang C, Li S, Zhang Y, Gabel CV, Schwarz TL, He Z. The Mammalian-Specific Protein Armcx1 Regulates Mitochondrial Transport during Axon Regeneration. Neuron. 2017 05 03; 94(3):689. PMID: 28472662

Melentijevic I, Toth ML, Arnold ML, Guasp RJ, Harinath G, Nguyen KC, Taub D, Parker JA, Neri C, Gabel CV, Hall DH, Driscoll M. C. elegans neurons jettison protein aggregates and mitochondria under neurotoxic stress. Nature. 2017 02 16; 542(7641):367-371.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Taub, Daniel

PMID: 28178240; PMCID: PMC5336134; DOI: 10.1038/nature21362;

Chung SH, Awal MR, Shay J, McLoed MM, Mazur E, Gabel CV. Novel DLK-independent neuronal regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans shares links with activity-dependent ectopic outgrowth. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 May 17; 113(20):E2852-60.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Awal, Mehraj
Mcloed, Melissa
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 27078101; PMCID: PMC4878464; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1600564113;

Nawabi H, Belin S, Cartoni R, Williams PR, Wang C, Latremolière A, Wang X, Zhu J, Taub DG, Fu X, Yu B, Gu X, Woolf CJ, Liu JS, Gabel CV, Steen JA, He Z. Doublecortin-Like Kinases Promote Neuronal Survival and Induce Growth Cone Reformation via Distinct Mechanisms. Neuron. 2015 Nov 18; 88(4):704-19.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Taub, Daniel

PMID: 26526391; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.10.005;

He S, Philbrook A, McWhirter R, Gabel CV, Taub DG, Carter MH, Hanna IM, Francis MM, Miller DM. Transcriptional Control of Synaptic Remodeling through Regulated Expression of an Immunoglobulin Superfamily Protein. Curr Biol. 2015 Oct 5; 25(19):2541-8.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Taub, Daniel

PMID: 26387713; PMCID: PMC4596794; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.022;

Sun L, Shay J, McLoed M, Roodhouse K, Chung SH, Clark CM, Pirri JK, Alkema MJ, Gabel CV. Neuronal regeneration in C. elegans requires subcellular calcium release by ryanodine receptor channels and can be enhanced by optogenetic stimulation. J Neurosci. 2014 Nov 26; 34(48):15947-56.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Sun, Lin
Mcloed, Melissa
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 25429136; PMCID: PMC4244466; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4238-13.2014;

Gruner M, Nelson D, Winbush A, Hintz R, Ryu L, Chung SH, Kim K, Gabel CV, van der Linden AM. Feeding state, insulin and NPR-1 modulate chemoreceptor gene expression via integration of sensory and circuit inputs. PLoS Genet. 2014 Oct; 10(10):e1004707.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 25357003; PMCID: PMC4214617; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004707;

Chung SH, Schmalz A, Ruiz RC, Gabel CV, Mazur E. Femtosecond laser ablation reveals antagonistic sensory and neuroendocrine signaling that underlie C. elegans behavior and development. Cell Rep. 2013 Jul 25; 4(2):316-26.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 23871668; PMCID: PMC4780052; DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2013.06.027;

Chung SH, Sun L, Gabel CV. In vivo neuronal calcium imaging in C. elegans. J Vis Exp. 2013; (74).View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Sun, Lin
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 23603812; PMCID: PMC3653678; DOI: 10.3791/50357;

Reina CP, Driscoll M, Gabel CV. Neuronal repair: Apoptotic proteins make good. Worm. 2013 Apr 1; 2(2):e22285. PMID: 24058867; PMCID: PMC3704441; DOI: 10.4161/worm.22285;

Kim E, Sun L, Gabel CV, Fang-Yen C. Long-term imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans using nanoparticle-mediated immobilization. PLoS One. 2013; 8(1):e53419.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Sun, Lin

PMID: 23301069; PMCID: PMC3536676; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053419;

Pinan-Lucarre B, Gabel CV, Reina CP, Hulme SE, Shevkoplyas SS, Slone RD, Xue J, Qiao Y, Weisberg S, Roodhouse K, Sun L, Whitesides GM, Samuel A, Driscoll M. The core apoptotic executioner proteins CED-3 and CED-4 promote initiation of neuronal regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS Biol. 2012; 10(5):e1001331.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Sun, Lin

PMID: 22629231; PMCID: PMC3358320; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001331;

Fang-Yen C, Gabel CV, Samuel AD, Bargmann CI, Avery L. Laser microsurgery in Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods Cell Biol. 2012; 107:177-206. PMID: 22226524; PMCID: PMC3617498; DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-394620-1.00006-0;

Wolozin B, Gabel C, Ferree A, Guillily M, Ebata A. Watching worms whither: modeling neurodegeneration in C. elegans. Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2011; 100:499-514.View Related Profiles.

Ferree, Andrew
Ebata, Atsushi
Wolozin, Benjamin
Gabel, Christopher
Guillily, Maria

PMID: 21377635; PMCID: PMC3140532; DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384878-9.00015-7;

Ha HI, Hendricks M, Shen Y, Gabel CV, Fang-Yen C, Qin Y, Colón-Ramos D, Shen K, Samuel AD, Zhang Y. Functional organization of a neural network for aversive olfactory learning in Caenorhabditis elegans. Neuron. 2010 Dec 22; 68(6):1173-86. PMID: 21172617; PMCID: PMC3038580; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.11.025;

Gabel A, Krapivsky PL, Redner S. Facilitated asymmetric exclusion. Phys Rev Lett. 2010 Nov 19; 105(21):210603. PMID: 21231281

Luo L, Gabel CV, Ha HI, Zhang Y, Samuel AD. Olfactory behavior of swimming C. elegans analyzed by measuring motile responses to temporal variations of odorants. J Neurophysiol. 2008 May; 99(5):2617-25. PMID: 18367700; DOI: 10.1152/jn.00053.2008;

Gabel CV, Antoine F, Antonie F, Chuang CF, Samuel AD, Chang C. Distinct cellular and molecular mechanisms mediate initial axon development and adult-stage axon regeneration in C. elegans. Development. 2008 Mar; 135(6):1129-36. PMID: 18296652; DOI: 10.1242/dev.013995;

Chi CA, Clark DA, Lee S, Biron D, Luo L, Gabel CV, Brown J, Sengupta P, Samuel AD. Temperature and food mediate long-term thermotactic behavioral plasticity by association-independent mechanisms in C. elegans. J Exp Biol. 2007 Nov; 210(Pt 22):4043-52. PMID: 17981872

Gabel CV, Gabel H, Pavlichin D, Kao A, Clark DA, Samuel AD. Neural circuits mediate electrosensory behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans. J Neurosci. 2007 Jul 11; 27(28):7586-96. PMID: 17626220; PMCID: PMC6672606; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0775-07.2007;

Korta J, Clark DA, Gabel CV, Mahadevan L, Samuel AD. Mechanosensation and mechanical load modulate the locomotory gait of swimming C. elegans. J Exp Biol. 2007 Jul; 210(Pt 13):2383-9. PMID: 17575043

Clark DA, Gabel CV, Gabel H, Samuel AD. Temporal activity patterns in thermosensory neurons of freely moving Caenorhabditis elegans encode spatial thermal gradients. J Neurosci. 2007 Jun 6; 27(23):6083-90. PMID: 17553981; PMCID: PMC6672141; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1032-07.2007;

Clark DA, Gabel CV, Lee TM, Samuel AD. Short-term adaptation and temporal processing in the cryophilic response of Caenorhabditis elegans. J Neurophysiol. 2007 Mar; 97(3):1903-10. PMID: 17151225

Biron D, Shibuya M, Gabel C, Wasserman SM, Clark DA, Brown A, Sengupta P, Samuel AD. A diacylglycerol kinase modulates long-term thermotactic behavioral plasticity in C. elegans. Nat Neurosci. 2006 Dec; 9(12):1499-505. PMID: 17086178

Chung SH, Clark DA, Gabel CV, Mazur E, Samuel AD. The role of the AFD neuron in C. elegans thermotaxis analyzed using femtosecond laser ablation. BMC Neurosci. 2006; 7:30.View Related Profiles.

Gabel, Christopher
Chung, Samuel

PMID: 16600041; PMCID: PMC1450292; DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-7-30;

Colosimo ME, Brown A, Mukhopadhyay S, Gabel C, Lanjuin AE, Samuel AD, Sengupta P. Identification of thermosensory and olfactory neuron-specific genes via expression profiling of single neuron types. Curr Biol. 2004 Dec 29; 14(24):2245-51. PMID: 15620651

Gabel CV, Berg HC. The speed of the flagellar rotary motor of Escherichia coli varies linearly with protonmotive force. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jul 22; 100(15):8748-51. PMID: 12857945; PMCID: PMC166384

Gifford SC, Frank MG, Derganc J, Gabel C, Austin RH, Yoshida T, Bitensky MW. Parallel microchannel-based measurements of individual erythrocyte areas and volumes. Biophys J. 2003 Jan; 84(1):623-33. PMID: 12524315; PMCID: PMC1302643

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 47 publications over 21 distinct years, with a maximum of 4 publications in 2007 and 2013 and 2019 and 2020

Bar chart showing 47 publications over 21 distinct years, with a maximum of 4 publications in 2007 and 2013 and 2019 and 2020

Year	Publications
2003	2
2004	1
2006	3
2007	4
2008	2
2010	2
2011	1
2012	2
2013	4
2014	2
2015	2
2016	2
2017	2
2018	2
2019	4
2020	4
2021	1
2022	1
2023	1
2024	2
2025	3

Media Mentions

State Grants To Boost Massachusetts Spinal Cord Research

Fresno Bee 5/11/2019

Promotions to Associate Professor Go to 16 on Medical Campus

BU Today 7/6/2018

2020 GMS Exceptional Teaching Award during COVID-19

2019 Boston University: Spivack Neuroscience Scholar Emerging Leader Award

2017 Boston University School of Medicine: Educator of the Year in Graduate Medical Sciences

In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

C. elegans
Femtosecond laser ablation
neuronal damage
neuronal regeneration

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72 E. Concord St Instructional (L)
Boston MA 02118
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