Mechanisms of Intercellular Communication

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is for "highly-focused post-doctoral training". The objectives are to: 1) Provide outstanding post-doctoral training in basic research on the molecular structure and physiological function of gap junctions and excitatory chemical synapses, 2) capitalize on the synergism and collaboration of the several laboratories in terms of theoretical underpinning and techniques employed, 3) relate basic science findings to clinical problems, and 4) train members of underrepresented minority groups. Strategies to these ends are to: 1) Restrict the training faculty to a small interactive group, 2) recruit and select top quality trainees, 3) actively recruit minority participants, 4) mandate attendance at Departmental seminars, works-in-progress presentations and journal clubs, and 5) promote collaborative projects of trainees with more than one mentor. Training areas will be: 1) Gap junctions: Structure-function studies by site directed mutagenesis and biophysical characterization to identify pore lining and gating domains, analysis of trafficking and regulation of expression, determination of physiological roles, determination of mechanism in diseases caused by gap junction mutations, 2) excitatory synapses: structure-function, regulation by kinases, and trafficking of glutamate receptors, analysis of pre-synaptic mechanisms, role of glutamate receptors in delayed neurodegeneration, 3) permeability and gating of ion-conducting channels and protein translocation, as exemplified by toxins. Research in Neuroscience continues to flourish at the College, and a new chairman and 7 new junior faculties have been recruited. Past and present trainees are very productive. The College has continued to support graduate and postgraduate education actively. The trainees will carry out research under the primary supervision of one of the trainers, but the training faculty, as a whole will monitor the progress of each trainee. Bioethics and appropriate scientific conduct are a regular part of the curriculum. Trainees are recruited by trainers attending meetings of professional societies, especially the Society for Neuroscience, by announcements in Peterson's Guide and the catalog of training programs published by the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs, and by word of mouth. Additional efforts at minority recruitment involve participation at meetings organized for minority students. Trainees are encouraged to explore laboratories other than the one in which they are working and to take maximum advantage of the many scientific opportunities in the College as a whole.