伊桑·布洛克博士.D.

家乡:宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡
2015年加入查塔姆国际事务研究所

兴趣的学术领域

生物学, 神经科学, 细胞生物学, 信号转导, 膜贩运, Neurotransmitter transporters, 药物成瘾, 上皮性伤口愈合, 癌症

个人兴趣领域

家庭、冰球、烹饪

传记

I fell in love with science as an undergraduate working in a molecular endocrinology laboratory, and I am pleased to be able to share my passion and expertise with Chatham science students. I am a cellular and molecular biologist with specific expertise in signal transduction, 蛋白质贩卖, 和神经科学. A common theme in my research career has been cell communication. 作为一名本科生, I studied the endocrine regulation of growth hormone receptor; as a graduate student I studied intra- and extra-cellular signal transduction in the cornea; as a post-doc I studied a key aspect of neurotransmission. My current work focuses on the dopamine re-uptake transporter, a membrane protein that regulates neurotransmission by clearing dopamine from the synapse. Elucidating the cell signals that regulate transporter function may help to explain mechanisms of neurodegeneration and psychiatric disorders, 比如吸毒成瘾. 研究 in my laboratory will capitalize on recent discoveries that certain isoforms of protein kinase C regulate dopamine transporter endocytosis, and that the transporter displays brain-region specific patterns of distribution. In addition to collaborations at the University of Pittsburgh, I use basic biochemical and microscopic techniques to test hypotheses related to re-uptake transporter function that are relevant to psychiatric disorders, 药物成瘾, and neurodegenerative disease.

教育

• B.A., University of California (Santa Cruz, CA), 2001
• Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA), 2010

成就

研究

The brain chemical dopamine is important for emotion, cognition, learning, and 运动. Dysregulation of dopamine physiology is involved with disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease, 抑郁症, 注意力缺陷多动症, 以及物质使用障碍.

My research focuses on the dopamine transporter, which is a primary regulator of normal dopamine physiology as well as being the target of numerous therapeutic and addictive drugs such as cocaine, 安非他命, 还有一些抗抑郁药. The goal of my research program is to define the effects on dopamine transporter function of 安非他命-like stimulants, and to further probe the cellular signals and protein interactions underlying these effects. Open projects in the laboratory use mammalian cell culture, 免疫细胞化学, 显微镜, and behavioral analysis of the microscopic roundworm C. 线虫.

There are also ongoing collaborative projects with Dr. Rob Lettan (drug discovery), Dr. Nataliya Myshakina (structural modeling), Dr. EJ Ryan (stimulant use and performance), and Dr. Alexander Sorkin, University of Pittsburgh (confocal fluorescence 显微镜 and 体外 分析).  Knowledge gained from this research contributes to an overall understanding of dopamine physiology and pharmacology, and lends insights toward new therapeutic avenues for substance use and other neurological disorders.

All students interested in joining the laboratory should contact Dr. 块. It is great to have a strong background in biology (BIO143 & 144) and laboratory technique (CHM108 & 110年,BIO143L &144L), in addition to either cell and molecular biology (BIO231W) or neuroscience (BIO209). 

查看刊物一览表

Victoria Vernail (BS 生物学, 2020) presenting her project at Chatham University 研究 Day 2019.

Christian West (BS 生物学, 2019) presenting his project at Chatham University 研究 Day 2019.

弗雷德里克·利奇文学士, 生物学, 2020) performing cytotoxicity analysis using the multi-well spectrophotometer.

Dopamine transporter endocytosis is measured using 免疫细胞化学 to label surface (red) and endocytosed (green) transporters.

Toxicity of stimulants is measured by using fluorescence 显微镜 to observe the dopamine transporter (blue) and functioning mitochondria (red).

微小的线虫C. 线虫 is used to measure dopamine dependent behaviors such as feeding, 化学感觉, 运动, 线索条件反射.