Michael John Ferns, B.Sc.(Hons), Ph.D.

Professor

Michael John Ferns is not currently accepting new patients. For assistance finding a UC Davis doctor, please call 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284).

Reviews

Specialties

Anesthesiology

Neuromuscular Disorders

Locations and Contact

Patient Support Services Building

Patient Support Services Building
4150 V St.
Sacramento, CA 95817

Get Directions

Phone: 916-734-5031

Additional Numbers

Department Fax

916-734-7980

Physician Referrals

800-4-UCDAVIS (800-482-3284)

Clinical Interests

Dr. Ferns interest is in disorders of neuromuscular synapses such as myasthenia gravis and congenital myasthenic syndrome. His aim is to understand the pathological basis for these diseases at a molecular level and to define new therapeutic targets for the treatment of these disorders.

Research/Academic Interests

Dr. Fern's interest is in understanding the molecular basis of synapse formation, maintenance and disease in the peripheral nervous system. His research focuses on cholinergic neuromuscular and autonomic synapses and his main objectives are (1) to define the synaptogenic factors that regulate synapse formation and maintenance; (2) to define the intracellular mechanisms that localize nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at these synapses; and (3) to establish how defects in synapse formation or receptor localization contribute to neurological diseases such as myasthenia gravis and congenital myasthenic syndromes. This includes collaborative studies with clinician-scientists at UC Davis.

Undergraduate School

B.Sc., University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand 1983

Other School

Ph.D., Physiology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 1988

Fellowship

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Physiology, UC San Francisco, San Francisco CA 1991-1994

Canadian Institute Health Research Scholarship, 2002

Adler Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1994

University Postgraduate Research Scholarship for Foreign Student, 1987

Ferns M. An inside job: molecular determinants for postsynaptic localization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Journal Molecules. 2021; 26(11): 3065. doi: 10.3390/molecules26113065

Maselli R, Wei D, Hodgson T, Sampson J, Vasquez J, Heather S, Pytel P, Ferns M. Dominant and recessive congenital myasthenic syndromes caused by SYT2 mutations. Muscle and Nerve 2021; 64(2): 219-224. doi: 10.1002/mus.27332

Maselli RA, van der Linden H Jr, Ferns M. Recessive congenital myasthenic syndrome caused by a homozygous mutation in SYT2 altering a highly conserved C-terminal amino acid sequence. Am J Med Genet A. 2020 Jul;182(7):1744-1749. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.61579. Epub 2020 Apr 6. PMID:32250532.

Rudell JC, Borges LS, Yarov-Yarovoy V, Ferns M. The MX-Helix of Muscle nAChR Subunits Regulates Receptor Assembly and Surface Trafficking. Front Mol Neurosci. 2020 Mar 24;13:48. doi:10.3389/fnmol.2020.00048. PMID:32265653.

Rudell JB, Maselli RA, Yarov-Yarovoy V, Ferns MJ. Pathogenic effects of agrin V1727F mutation are isoform specific and decrease its expression and affinity for HSPGs and LRP4. Hum Mol Genet. 2019 Aug 15;28(16):2648-2658. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddz081. PMID:30994901.

Maselli RA, Vázquez J, Schrumpf L, Arredondo J, Lara M, Strober JB, Pytel P, Wollmann RL, Ferns M. Presynaptic congenital myasthenic syndrome with altered synaptic vesicle homeostasis linked to compound heterozygous sequence variants in RPH3A. Mol Genet Genomic Med. 2018 May;6(3):434-440. doi:10.1002/mgg3.370. Epub 2018 Feb 14. PMID:29441694.

Rudell JC, Borges LS, Rudell JB, Beck KA, Ferns MJ. Determinants in the β and δ subunit cytoplasmic loop regulate Golgi trafficking and surface expression of the muscle acetylcholine receptor. J Biol Chem. 2014 Jan 3;289(1):203-14. doi:10.1074/jbc.M113.502328. Epub 2013 Nov 15. PMID:24240098.

Rudell JB, Ferns MJ. Regulation of muscle acetylcholine receptor turnover by β subunit tyrosine phosphorylation. Dev Neurobiol. 2013 May;73(5):399-410. doi:10.1002/dneu.22070. Epub 2013 Mar 12. PMID:23325468.

Rudell JC, Borges LS, Rudell JB, Beck KA, Ferns MJ. Determinants in the β and δ subunit cytoplasmic loop regulate Golgi trafficking and surface expression of the muscle acetylcholine receptor. J Biol Chem. 2014 Jan 3;289(1):203-14. doi:10.1074/jbc.M113.502328. Epub 2013 Nov 15. PMID:24240098.

Maselli RA, Arredondo J, Ferns MJ, Wollmann RL. Synaptic basal lamina-associated congenital myasthenic syndromes. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012 Dec;1275:36-48. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06807.x. PMID:23278576.