Blakely Lab

I am a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Neuroscience. My research involves the characterization and analysis of the proline transporter. More specifically, I am investigating the potential role of proline in synaptic transmission, focusing primarily on communication at glutamatergic synapses. The proline transporter has been observed in heterogeneous concentrations throughout the brain, with the greatest localization among these glutamatergic synapses. This may suggest that proline plays a modulatory role in the pre-synaptic release of glutamate.

I am a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Neuroscience and Philosophy. My research involves an analysis of the functional consequences of altered dopamine transporter trafficking in vivo. Specifically, I am exploring the behavioral phenotype exhibited after particular mutations are made in the dopamine transporter C-terminus in the model system of Caenorhabditis elegans. Using RNA interference and other gene deletion methods, I am characterizing the structural determinants necessary for proper dopamine transporter trafficking and function in vivo.

I am a sophomore majoring in Neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences. My research in the Blakely Lab with graduate student Alexander Nackenoff focuses on the neurotransmitter serotonin and its transporter SERT, localized to the presynaptic membrane. My research involves the use of transgenic mice with an I172M mutation that restricts the access of antidepressants to SERT. My investigations may allow for the identification of molecular pathways linked to the risk for depression.

I am a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Neuroscience. My research focuses on novel regulators of dopamine signaling. Specifically, I am exploring the expression pattern of newly identified genes using mouse models. My initial focus is on a gene identified in the nematode, C. elegans, that when mutated, leads to a hyperdopaminergic phenotype.

I am a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science from St. Louis, Missouri. I am majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Spanish, with the hope of becoming either a physician or medical scientist. I am working with Dr. Nicole Baganz on the impact of altered serotonin transporter regulation on brain biochemistry and behavior using novel transgenic mouse models.

I am a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences studying neuroscience and philosophy. My research involves analysis of the dopamine transporter in C. elegans. Currently, I am exploring how dopamine signaling is regulated presynaptically in this model, assisting in characterizing novel regulators of dopamine signaling that may have conserved roles in humans.

I am a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Neuroscience. My research involves a biochemical analysis of human dopamine transporter (DAT) mutations. In this effort, I am exploring the impact of DAT coding variation, discovered in ADHD subjects, on protein expression and trafficking in vitro and in vivo.

I am a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in neuroscience. My research focuses on the antidepressant-sensitive serotonin transporter (SERT). Specifically, I am helping to profile the changes that occur in the CNS of SERT KO mice using MALDI-Imaging Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-IMS). With this approach, we aim to identify protein expression level differences between wildtype and mutant mice to further elucidate the biological pathways and molecular networks regulating serotonin signaling in the CNS.