James King, PhD, Interim Chair
The Department of Neuroscience (DNS) was formed in 1999 in a reorganization
of the basic science departments that created the School of Biomedical Science. The Department has grown from 10 to 20 full-time faculty, with 12 joint/courtesy faculty appointments whose tenureinitiating unit is in another department and/or college. The department mission is to foster outstanding research and teaching in the neurosciences. The DNS is closely aligned with the Center for Molecular Neurobiology and the Neuroscience
Graduate Studies Program at Ohio State. DNS research is focused on understanding how the brain functions and translating that knowledge to improved clinical treatment for those
suffering from neurological disease.
Ongoing Research Programs
Research programs range from molecular genetic studies of nervous system development to preclinical testing of neuroprotective agents and neural transplantation. Examples of ongoing studies include:
A model of spinal muscular atrophy in zebra fish
Mechanisms of cytoskeletal transport in axons
Cellular signaling mechanisms in the context of synaptic plasticity, aging and epilepsy
The molecular basis for circadian rhythms in brain and retina. The role of stem/progenitor cells in repair of the spinal cord and retina
Basic aspects of membrane channels that control neural activity
Research Accomplishments of 2007
Research on the behavior and physiology of circadian rhythms – Karl Obrietan, PhD, directs a program focused on signal transduction pathways that affect circadian timing. This effort is supported by two National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding awards.
Core Laboratory support continues as an NIH-sponsored project that has provided funding for microscopy, physiology, transgenic animal facilities and behavioral testing. Multiple
Department of Neuroscience and Center for Molecular Neurobiology faculty are involved, including Christine Beattie, PhD, Tony Brown, PhD, Paul Henion, PhD, John
Oberdick, PhD, and Mike Zhu, PhD, as well as Randy Nelson, PhD, from Psychology (Behavioral Neuroscience),
and Jack Boulant, PhD, from Physiology and Cell Biology.
The spinal cord injury program continues its NIH-sponsored research training and has received national and international recognition. Dana McTigue, PhD, is principal investigator.
Support for research in the laboratory of C. Glenn Lin, PhD, on the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease is a collaboration with faculty from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Department of Physiology at Ohio State and Ohio State’s Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. Included is support for research on Alzheimer’s disease.
Research on the retina is supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) and is a relatively new area of investigation in the Department of Neuroscience. It is focused on stem cell development (Andy Fischer, PhD) as well as circadian rhythms and directional selectivity of retinal neurons (Stuart Mangel, PhD).
Researchers in the laboratory of Christine Beattie, PhD, are investigating motor neuron diseases in collaboration with Arthur Burghes, PhD, of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. Spinal muscular atrophy is being modeled in zebra fish; this collaborative program is supported by the NIH and the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association.