Andrew Worthy

Andrew Worthy

PhD Researcher & Data Scientist Python · ML · Signal Processing

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A list of all the posts and pages found on the site. For you robots out there, there is an XML version available for digesting as well.

Pages

Posts

V1 Interneurons: The Spinal Cord’s Hidden Conductors

18 minute read

Published:

Most neuroscience coverage focuses on the brain. That makes sense — the brain is where perception, memory, and thought live. But walking, running, and even the simple act of reaching for a coffee cup happen largely because of circuits that never consult the brain at all. The spinal cord is not just a cable connecting the brain to the body. It is a computational device in its own right, and embedded within it is a rich population of interneurons that orchestrate nearly everything your muscles do.

The H-Reflex: A Window Into the Spinal Cord Without Going Inside It

12 minute read

Published:

Most of what we know about the brain and spinal cord comes from indirect measurements. For decades, one of the most useful probes of spinal circuit function has been the deceptively simple H-reflex, which you can record from a muscle using just a surface electrode.

The PhD Pivot: Translating Quantitative Research Skills to Industry Roles

4 minute read

Published:

PhDs are often told they need to “re-skill” to transition to industry. That framing suggests a deficiency in technical or professional capability that doctoral research does not address. In my experience the opposite is closer to the truth: the challenge is recognizing existing skills and translating them into language that resonates with non-academic audiences.

portfolio

MonStim Analyzer — Project Write-up

Published:

A production PyQt6 desktop application for processing, visualizing, and analyzing 100+ GB multi-channel electrophysiological datasets — reducing lab analysis time by ~80%.

make_contours — Project Write-up

Published:

Adapting and publishing a MATLAB spatial interpolation toolkit as the open-source, reproducible analysis pipeline for a peer-reviewed eLife study on spinal interneuron distributions.

MonStim Plotter — Project Write-up

Published:

A companion PyQt6 application for automated, reproducible generation of publication-quality EMG trace figures — turning a half-day manual task into a 10-minute batch job.

publications

Mucoidy, a general mechanism for maintaining lytic phage in populations of bacteria

Published in FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2020

This study demonstrates that overproduction of exopolysaccharides, “mucoidy”, allows bacterial populations to be resistant to lytic bacteriophage infection. We found that spontaneous reversion from the mucoid state to the susceptible non-mucoid state allows these phage-resistant bacterial populations to maintain lytic viruses without greatly affecting the bacterial population density.

Recommended citation: Waqas Chaudhry, Esther Lee, Andrew Worthy, Zoe Weiss, Marcin Grabowicz, Nicole Vega, Bruce Levin, Mucoidy, a general mechanism for maintaining lytic phage in populations of bacteria, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Volume 96, Issue 10, October 2020, fiaa162, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiaa162
Download Paper | Download Bibtex

Spinal V1 inhibitory interneuron clades differ in birthdate, projections to motoneurons, and heterogeneity

Published in eLife, 2024

This study characterizes the various subtypes (“clades”) of spinal V1 interneurons, describing their relative neurogenesis times, their distributions throughout the lumbar spinal cord, and their connections to motoneurons. It also investigates the molecular identities of further subdivisions within the Foxp2-V1 clade, and demonstrates that some of these Foxp2-V1s have connectivity that resembles reciprocal Ia inhibitory interneurons (IaINs).

Recommended citation: Andrew E Worthy, Joanna T Anderson, Alicia R Lane, Laura J Gomez-Perez, Anthony A Wang, Ronald W Griffith, Andre F Rivard, Jay B Bikoff, Francisco J Alvarez (2024) Spinal V1 inhibitory interneuron clades differ in birthdate, projections to motoneurons, and heterogeneity eLife 13:RP95172. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.95172.3
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Synchrony within Aβ mechanoreceptor subtypes governs signal propagation to primary somatosensory cortex

Published in bioRxiv (preprint), 2026

This study uses optogenetics with a fast channelrhodopsin variant (CatCh) to reveal how temporal patterns and synchrony of activity within Aβ low threshold mechanoreceptor subtypes control signal propagation to primary somatosensory cortex. We found that sustained cortical responses require synchronous activation of multiple Aβ SAI-LTMRs, while Aβ RAI-LTMRs drive robust cortical responses even with asynchronous activation.

Recommended citation: Wanyi Liu, Andrew E. Worthy, Alan J. Emanuel (2026). Synchrony within Aβ mechanoreceptor subtypes governs signal propagation to primary somatosensory cortex. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.16.700009
Download Paper | Download Bibtex

talks

V1 Interneurons Expressing Foxp2 are a Highly Heterogeneous Clade

Published:

Presented research findings on the heterogeneity of spinal V1 interneurons expressing the transcription factor Foxp2. This work contributed to our understanding of how V1 interneuron clades differ in their molecular identities and functional roles in the spinal cord.

V1 Interneurons Expressing Foxp2 Are a Highly Heterogeneous Clade

Published:

Presented poster describing the molecular heterogeneity of the Foxp2-expressing V1 interneuron clade in the spinal cord, revealing multiple discrete subpopulations with distinct connectivity patterns. Work contributed to the eLife publication (Worthy et al. 2024).

Renshaw Cell Modulation of Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Output

Published:

Presented ongoing research investigating how Renshaw cells modulate reciprocal inhibition pathways and influence motor output. This work combines in vivo electrophysiology with computational modeling to elucidate the functional roles of Renshaw cells in spinal motor circuits.

teaching