Presidential Young Investigator

总统青年研究者奖将支持研究确定参与神经元分化的分子机制。来自小脑颗粒神经元和胚胎癌细胞系P19的细胞系将用于减法杂交研究，以开始鉴定在分化或未分化细胞中特异性表达的基因。同源基因的克隆将用于鉴定其他对分化重要的基因。基因转染将用于研究这些基因的功能。此外，还将确定与神经元特异性基因蛋白GAP-43的转录调控有关的因素。这些研究是理解大脑发育机制的基础。

A Presidential Young Investigator Award will support studies to define molecular mechanisms involved in neuronal differentiation. Cell lines derived from cerebellar granule neurons and the embryonic carcinoma cell line, P19, will be used for subtractive hybridization studies to begin to identify genes that are specifically expressed in differentiated or undifferentiated cells. Cloning of homologous genes will be used to identify other genes important to differentiation. Gene transfection will be used to study function of those genes identified. In addition, factors involved in transcriptional regulation of GAP-43, a neuron-specific gene protein, will be identified. These studies are fundamental to understanding the mechanisms underlying brain development.