Neurotrophic Factors; Synaptic Structure and Function; Calcium Signaling; Rett Syndrome
My long-term research interest is to characterize the functional role of structurally defined neuronal compartments such as spines, dendrites and presynaptic terminals, and how they participate in synaptic development, function and plasticity as they relate to learning and memory. The hippocampus is a brain region well known for its function in learning and memory. The lab focuses on the actions of neurotrophins in the hippocampus to characterize the regulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity by slow-acting non-classical neuromodulators.
Neurotrophins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are secretory proteins that regulate neuronal survival and differentiation, as well as synapse development, function and plasticity. Neurotrophic factors are strong candidates to provide the molecular signaling pathways mediating complex interactions leading to appropriate dendritic maturation and synapse development. We are currently investigating the “BDNF hypothesis” of Rett Syndrome, a mental retardation of genetic origin that is associated with mutations in MeCP2, a transcriptional repressor of the BDNF gene. The lab employs several functional and structural approaches in organotypic slice cultures, including intracellular whole-cell recordings, Ca2+ imaging, conventional and rapid-freezing electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, FM-dye imaging and multiphoton excitation microscopy.
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About Dr. Lucas Pozzo-Miller
Lucas Pozzo-Miller completed his undergraduate studies in Biology from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina (M.Sc., 1986). He earned his graduate degree in Neurobiology from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba with Dr. Agustín Aoki (Ph.D., 1989). He trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH, with Dr. Dennis Landis (1990-1992), and at the former Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, Nutley NJ, with Dr. John Connor (1992-1995). He performed research at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole MA, with Dr. Rodolfo Llinás (1994 Grass Foundation Fellow, and 1995 Lakian Foundation Fellow). He held a Senior Staff Fellow position at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD, in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Reese (1995-1998), and joined the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1998. He is presently an Associate Professor of Neurobiology.
