Mef2a and muscle regeneration: Christine Snyder

Even exercise can damage your muscles. Muscle cells then need to regenerate to keep you healthy. This month, we talk with Christine Snyder, a graduate student in the lab of Frank Naya at Boston University who studies how muscle regrowth is regulated.

Her work in the Naya lab focuses on a transcription factor (a protein that interacts with the DNA to affect gene transcription) known as Mef2A. Her lab studies mice that lack this transcription factor and show specific deficits in muscle development. She also explains how a technique called RNA interference can be used to silence certain genes to determine their function in cell cultures or animal models. Christine’s work has important implications for manipulating muscle regeneration after disease or injury.

More on the Naya Lab's research

Chronic pain is a disease: Allan Basbaum

Pain helps us avoid potentially harmful situations and is necessary for survival. While most of us only experience acute pain while the painful stimulus is present, some people unfortunately suffer from constant pain that persists long after the stimulus is removed. Our guest this week, Allan Basbaum, a professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy at UCSF, is interested in chronic pain and its cause.

During our interview, Dr. Basbaum explains how pain is in the brain; the pain that one person feels can be more (or less) intense than another person’s perception even if the stimulus is identical. His lab investigates how chronic pain can occur by changes in the nervous system and the role of epigenetics (the interactions between your DNA and all other non-DNA elements). They are also interested in transplanting inhibitory precursor cells (cells that develop and eventually inhibit the activity of surrounding neurons) to help the spinal cord suppress pain signals. His findings could eventually lead to effective therapies to treat this debilitating disease.

More on the Basbaum Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed

Makings of a memory: Loren Frank

The brain’s capacity to remember experiences to guide future decisions is an essential and fascinating ability. Our guest this month Loren Frank, an associate professor in the Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience at UCSF, is working to understand this process.

Dr. Frank studies how the hippocampus, a brain structure required for the formation of memories, mediates spatial learning in rats. Within the hippocampus exist place cells: neurons that are activated whenever an animal is in a specific location in its environment. His lab records the neuronal activity of place cells during formation and “replay” of memories while rats explore their environment. Disrupting the “replay” prevents the long term formation of memory. Later in our interview, Dr. Frank discusses his initial interest in astrophysics and how he became interested in a career in neuroscience.

More on the Frank Lab's research

Mapping the brain's blood vessels: David Kleinfeld

David Kleinfeld is a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. In this month’s episode, Dr. Kleinfeld talks about the different, important questions his lab is addressing.

One part of his lab is trying to understand how the brain uses sensory input to process information about the environment. The lab uses the vibrissa (whisker) system in rats and mice to understand how they sense and navigate the world. Next, Dr. Kleinfeld discusses how changes in blood flow in the brain can be used to visualize electrical activity evoked by different stimuli. The tools his lab let them see blood flow at the level of a single blood vessel. Using these optical techniques, they can map every blood vessel and brain cell within sensory cortex. Creating a complicated “road map” of the brain can eventually be used to help interpret results from imaging techniques such as fMRI used in humans.


More on the Kleinfeld Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed

How the Brain Maps What it Sees and Hears: Jason Triplett

Auditory and visual cues are crucial for perceiving the environment. Within the brain, both auditory stimuli and visual stimuli are organized topographically. In the visual system this means that neighboring spots on the retina project to neighboring spots in the brain. Likewise, areas along the basilar membrane in the cochlea which are sensitive to increasing frequencies of sound maintain this arrangement in the areas of the brain to which they project.

Our guest this week is Jason Triplett, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is interested in understanding the molecular and genetic mechanisms that guide the formation of these spatial maps. Jason will discuss how waves of neuronal activity that take place during development (before the eyes are even opened) are used by the brain to establish these complicated maps. Finally, we will hear briefly about the experiences that led him toward a career in science.

More on the Triplett Lab's research.

Hosted by Sama Ahmed.

Studying the retinal ganglion cells: Andrew Huberman

Our guest this month is Andrew Huberman, an assistant professor in the department of neurobiology at UCSD. Dr Huberman is interested in a classic question in development—how do the eyes connect to the brain? Cells known as retinal ganglia cells (RGCs) receive information from photoreceptors in the retina and carry this information to the brain. Connections from the left eye and right eye connect to the same part of the brain early on, but sort into two groups during maturation. Furthermore, different subtypes of RGCs respond to color, motion, and brightness and these subtypes target separate, designated regions of the brain. Andrew and his lab are exploring the mechanisms that guide the separation of different subtypes of RGCs during development. At the end of our interview, he explains the role of electrical activity and different genes in guiding the migration of these cells during development as well as how a course on the biology of behavior inspired him to pursue a career in neuroscience.

More on the Huberman Lab's research

How neurons navigate their way around in the developing brain: David Van Vactor

Harvard University


Dec. 8, 2010 (Hosted by Osama Ahmed)





Your brain is composed of a tremendous number of neurons that make very specific connections with each other. The formation of this extremely complex circuit requires that each neuron find its appropriate target. Dr. David Van Vactor and his lab at Harvard University study the cellular machinery that help motor neurons navigate and find their correct partners, muscles, during development. They are also investigating how the neuromuscular junction is formed and maintained once the neuron reaches its destined target. At the end of our talk with David, he discusses the experiences in elementary school and college that led him to a career in science.




More on the Van Vactor Lab's research

What fruit flies can tell us about alcohol addiction: Ulrike Heberlein

In this week’s episode we talk to Dr. Ulrike Heberlein, a professor in the department of anatomy at UCSF and baseball aficionado. This year, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors that can be awarded to an American scientist.

Dr. Heberlein is interested in the genes that underlie alcoholism and drug addiction and uses a seemingly unusual animal model to study it—the fruit fly. Using this model, her lab has identified a gene dubbed happyhour that, when mutated, can reduce an organism’s response to alcohol. She discusses how her lab uses the findings in the fly to guide further experiments in rodents and how these discoveries may soon lead to developing treatments for alcohol addicts.

More on the Heberlein Lab's research

Hosted by Sama Ahmed
 

How your brain tells time: Michael Shadlen

Our guest this week is Michael Shadlen, a professor at Washington University, HHMI investigator, and avid jazz guitarist.

Some neurons in our brain help us sense our environment while others help us move our body parts. Dr. Shadlen is interested in the neurons that link sensory information with behavior—the neurons that help us think and decide. He is also interested in how our brain can keep track of time. Learn how Michael and his lab record from the brains of monkeys to study these processes.

More on the Shadlen Lab's research

Producer: Sama Ahmed

Dapper in the brain: Benjamin Cheyette

Dr. Ben Cheyette is an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at UCSF. Ben and his lab focuses on signaling proteins that help neurons develop and communicate with each other.

In this week’s episode Dr. Cheyette explains how these signaling pathways originally discovered in the fruit fly relate to psychiatric disorders in humans. He discusses how he became interested in this family of proteins and the research his lab is currently conducting. Using the power of mouse genetics, his lab studies how a protein called Dapper can shape the way neurons form and function in the brain. He is also interested in how mutations in the Dapper gene relate to autism. Finally, at the end of our talk Ben provides some helpful advice to young listeners interested in pursuing a career in science.

More on the Cheyette Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed

Repression of olfactory receptor genes: Stavros Lomvardas

Dr. Stavros Lomvardas, assistant professor in the department of anatomy at UCSF, is interested in olfactory receptor choice.

About 900 genes encode the receptor proteins in your nose that help you smell. However, each neuron in the olfactory epithelium expresses only one of those genes. Dr. Lomvardas is interested in how the nervous system “chooses” which receptor protein is expressed. In this episode, Stavros explores the cellular machinery that selectively enhances or silences the expression of genes and how these discoveries were made.

More on the Lomvardas Lab's research

Hosted and produced by Sama Ahmed

Memory of a relapse: Patricia Janak

In conjunction with being a professor at UCSF, Dr. Patricia Janak heads a lab at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center. There, Patricia and her fellow scientists tackle questions related to drug and alcohol abuse.

In this week’s episode, she shares with us some of her work on alcohol and drug addiction. Learn why some addicts have sudden cravings for drugs or alcohol and about the brain regions that are necessary for a relapse to happen.

More on the Janak Lab's research

Hosted by Sama Ahmed

Local neural networks associated with flexible behaviors: Takaki Komiyama

Our guest this weeks has been wondering the same thing. Dr. Takaki Komiyama is a postdoctoral fellow at Janelia Farms, currently working in the Svoboda Lab. He is interested in how the brain codes for flexible behaviors, such as learning to play tennis. With practice, you generally see an improvement in your game. Sooner or later, your swings become smoother and you become better at predicting where the ball will land. But how does your brain code for it all? Listen in to this week’s episode and find out.

More on the Komiyama Lab's research

Producer: Osama Ahmed

The genetics of morning larks: Louis Ptacek

In this week’s episode, Dr. Louis Ptacek, an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor at the University of California - San Francisco, discusses how alterations in our genes (called “mutations”) are responsible for why "morning larks" have to wake up in the middle of the night.

Louis is interested in understanding certain aspects of normal brain function, such as sleep. In my chat with him, he talks about our body’s natural circadian rhythm and how it is controlled by a “feedback loop” that controls gene expression and protein construction.

More on the Ptacek Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed

The meninges help the brain develop: Sam Pleasure

In this week’s session, we learn about the meninges. These are the membranes that cover and protect our central nervous system (our brains and spinal cords). More specifically, we learn from Dr. Sam Pleasure that the meninges may also help our brains develop. He also describes the role of two brain regions that his work focuses on: the hippocampus and the neocortex.

More on the Pleasure Lab's research

Ignoring distractions helps you remember better: Adam Gazzaley

Dr. Adam Gazzaley is interested in the interface between attention and memory. In this installment, he tells us about the tools he’s using to study how distractions affect our ability to remember. He’s recently discovered that older adults have a hard time ignoring irrelevant information, and that this may have a huge negative effect on their memory. Find out how he’s building a video game to help people ignore distractions, and hopefully remember better.


More on the Gazzaley Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed    

The Link Between Muscle Degeneration and Mechanosensitive Ion Channels: Jeff Lansman

Dr. Jeff Lansman explains what mechanosensitive ion channels are and their role in helping a cell sense forces such as touch. He’s using a genetic approach to understand how a mutation that causes cytoskeletal protein loss can lead to muscle death. Near the end, he shares with us how his interest in marine biology inspired him to study ion channels.

More on the Lansman Lab's research.


Hosted by Sama Ahmed. 

How does the mutation in Huntington's Disease cause neurodegeneration?: Steve Finkbeiner

Dr. Steven Finkbeiner is a Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Physiology at the University of California – San Francisco and is also the Associate Director of the Gladstone Institute for Neurologic Diseases.

Here he explains some of his state-of-the-art techniques that he uses to understand the link between the mutation that causes Huntington’s disease and the deterioration of brain cells (called “neurodegeneration”). This is another example of the in-between steps on the road from scientific bench top research to a hopeful cure.

More on the Finkbeiner Lab's research

Hosted and produced by Osama Ahmed

Anti-inflammatory properties of extra virgin olive oil: Paul Breslin

Monell Chemical Senses Center
Rutgers University


Dec. 9, 2009 (Hosted by Osama Ahmed)



Dr. Paul Breslin is a Member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center and a Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Rutger’s University. He is also a good friend of mine and has been my mentor for more than seven years during my time at Monell.


Here he shares with us a story about how extra virgin olive oil stings the back of the throat, and how that is connected with inflammation, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.



More on the Breslin Lab's research

How do hormones control sex-specific behaviors?: Nirao Shah

Dr. Nirao Shah is an assistant professor at the University of California – San Francisco.

Nirao is interested in how the brains of males and females can be so similar and yet make males and females act so differently. Here, he sits down with me to talk about his work in understanding how hormones control sex-specific behaviors. He discusses some of his recent discoveries which seem counterintuitive at first.

More on the Shah Lab's research

Hosted by Sama Ahmed

Figuring out the role of neurons in zebrafish swimming: Herwig Baier

He wants to know how brain cells (neurons) give rise to behavior. He explains to us how he is using light to turn on neurons in the zebrafish brain to understand how these cells affect the fish’s swimming.

More on the Baier Lab's research

Producer: Sama Ahmed

Finding new ways to diagnose and treat pain: Beth Winkelstein

Dr. Beth Winkelstein is a bioengineering professor at the University of Pennsylvania. I was lucky enough to work with her on a computational pain model during my last year in college.

As evident from talking to her, she is committed to understanding and treating chronic pain. In the show’s very first episode, she discusses her search for a better way to diagnose and treat pain.

More on the Winkelstein Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed

Launch Episode: What is Carry the One Radio?

Welcome to Carry the One Radio – a series of 10-minute chats with scientists about one question that they are working on. Your host for the program is Sama (Osama Ahmed), a neuroscience graduate student at the University of California – San Francisco. Spread the word about the show. Download the episodes – there will be one new episode every other Wednesday.


If you have any questions, or comments, or you want to support the show: please email CarryTheOneRadio@gmail.com