1994 — 1998 |
Martin, Joseph |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Rui: Thyroid Hormone Regulation of the Gabaa Receptor and Sleep/Waking Eeg @ Rutgers University New Brunswick
IBN-9412109 Joseph Martin The goal of this research is to understand how thyroid hormones influence the adult mammalian brain. In adulthood, the metabolic rate of many cell types is accelerated when thyroid hormones enter the tissue. This is not true of brain cells. However, some of the most serious consequences of excess secretion of thyroid hormones include changes in sleep patterns and induction of seizures. Preliminary evidence from the PI's laboratory indicates that thyroid hormone in the brain may bind to GABA-A receptors. These GABA-A receptors are proteins on the outside membranes of nerve cells that are responsible for the inhibitory effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical messenger between nerve cells. Studies will be performed in rats to determine the effects of thyroid hormones on the GABA-A receptor binding, the subsequent effects of this binding on the responses of the nerve cells and the resultant electroencephalogram (scalp recordings of brain waves that show changes in brain activity such as those that occur during sleep or seizures). These studies will determine the biological significance of the action of thyroid hormone on brain tissue as compared to its action on other tissues in the body.
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0.915 |
1998 — 2001 |
Martin, Joseph |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Rui: Physiological and Biochemical Interactions of Thyroid Hormones With Gabaa Receptors of the Cns @ Rutgers University New Brunswick
Joseph V. Martin IBN 98-09943 The goal of the proposal is to clarify how thyroid hormones influence the adult mammalian brain. During growth and development, hormones from the thyroid gland enter many cell types (including brain cells) and alter protein synthesis. In adulthood, the cellular metabolic rate is accelerated by thyroid hormones entering cells of many tissues, but not in the brain. However, some of the potentially most debilitating complications of thyroid glandular disease in adulthood are due to neurological disorders, ranging from anxiety and sleep problems to seizures or coma. The preliminary evidence demonstrates that thyroid hormones bind to and influence the function of brain GABAa receptors. These proteins on the outside of neuronal membranes are responsible for cellular effects of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter (local chemical messenger between neurons), gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA. Further preliminary work indicates effects of thyroid hormones on the whole brain electrical activity, as measured in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Experiments will be performed in rats to determine the types of effects that thyroid hormones have on the GABAa receptor binding and the subsequent cellular response. Small amounts of thyroid hormones will be injected directly into selected brain areas to ascertain the sensitivity of the sites in mediating thyroid hormonal effects on EEG and temperature regulation. The results of these studies will elucidate the biological significance of a brain action of thyroid hormones that more closely resembles the action of a neurotransmitter than the typical action of thyroid hormones in other tissues.
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0.915 |
2002 — 2004 |
Sarkar, Pradip Martin, Joseph |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Rui: Non-Genomic Metabotropic Effects of Thyroid Hormone in Adult Rat Brain @ Rutgers University New Brunswick
Thyroid hormones have profound effects on growth and development of many cell types (including brain cells) and also regulate the basal metabolic rate and other functions of adult tissues. The actions of thyroid hormones in brain were believed to be limited to effects on gene expression during the early developmental period, but new evidence has shown that the hormones can influence the adult brain. Biochemical and molecular approaches are used to study the mechanism of actions of thyroid hormone in adult central nervous system. Using a synaptosomal preparation of brain tissue without cell nuclei, the details of regulation of protein phosphorylation by thyroid hormones will be examined. The research will increase the understanding of a novel mechanism of action of thyroid hormones in adult brain. The significance of the findings will extend beyond the field of neuroendocrinology to add to the general comprehension of cell signaling pathways in cell biology. The project also offers undergraduates opportunities for neuroendocrinology research training in a laboratory that has an excellent history of such education.
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0.915 |
2002 — 2005 |
Saidel, William Shain, Daniel Whitlow, Jesse Arbuckle-Keil, Georgia Martin, Joseph |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Scanning Electron Microscope For Collaborative Use At Rutgers-Camden @ Rutgers University New Brunswick
A grant has been awarded to Drs. Joseph V. Martin, Georgia A. Arbuckle-Keil, Daniel H. Shain, J. William Whitlow, Jr. and William M. Saidel at Rutgers University to obtain a scanning electron microscope for multidisciplinary use. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides high resolution imagery of surfaces ranging from synthetic materials to biological samples. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX)-equipped scanning electron microscopes also have the capacity to detect heavy metals localized in tissue (e.g., brain) and synthetic polymers. In an effort to foster interdisciplinary research among faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences at the Rutgers/Camden campus, the IPCBS (Information Processing in Complex Biological Systems) group at Camden will acquire an SEM equipped with EDX capabilities. This unit operates under low vacuum, which permits samples to be examined without traditional time-consuming and costly preparative methodologies. Research initiatives that would result from the purchase of this instrument include the detailed morphological characterization of polymers with electroactive properties (Dr. G. Arbuckle-Keil), fine resolution of fungal hyphae for mapping leaf surfaces (Dr. J. Dighton), the accumulation of lead in brain tissue (Drs. J. Martin, W. Saidel, R. Whitlow), the distribution of iodine and zinc in the central nervous system as they relate to thyroid hormone function and circadian rhythms, respectively (Dr. J. Martin, P. Sarkar), characterizing the morphology of an unusual fish eye (Pantadon buchholzi) that receives light simultaneously from air and water (Dr. W. Saidel) and the taxonomic classification of annelid species from the Amazon River (Dr. D. Shain). The ease of use of an SEM will allow graduate and undergraduate researchers to have hands-on experience with a sophisticated research instrument. Courses that can incorporate an SEM component in their curricula include comparative morphology of plants, chemical principles, developmental botany, electron microscopy, general microbiology, instrumental analysis, invertebrate zoology, microtechnique and its applications, mycology and others. High school students will also have access to this instrument through the Science Preparation Alliance of Rutgers and Camden (SPARC). In summary, the acquisition of an SEM at Rutgers/Camden will greatly facilitate a broad range of research and teaching initiatives on this campus.
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0.915 |
2004 — 2008 |
Shain, Daniel Sarkar, Pradip Dighton, John (co-PI) [⬀] Martin, Joseph |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Acquisition of Instruments For Biosample Analyses in Research and Teaching @ Rutgers University New Brunswick
This award supports purchase of three major instruments to be used for analytical biochemistry in research and teaching efforts at a predominantly undergraduate institution. The award, to a group of faculty with related interests in information processing in complex biological systems, will permit acquisition and operation of a high pressure liquid chromatography system, an elemental analyser, and a phospoimaging system. These instruments will be placed in a central shared laboratory where they will be maintained by an experienced research technician. Expected research uses include the following: studies of nutrient movement within fungal mycelia; long-term analysis of soil chemistry in the New Jersey Pinelands; analysis of the effects of circadian rhythms and sleep-waking cycles on distribution of thyroid hormones and related CNS neurotransmitters; clarification of the neurotransmitter histology of a unique feeding circuit in Pantadon buchholzi, a fish with an unusual eye that receives light simultaneously from air and water; and others. In addition, the equipment will be used to enhance numerous graduate and undergraduate course offerings in biology and chemistry. The availability of this equipment will allow student researchers at both graduate and undergraduate levels to have hands-on experience with sophisticated research instruments. Courses that will benefit from the new equipment include biochemistry, cell physiology, molecular biology, general ecology, practical field ecology, and a proposed laboratory course in neuroscience and others. The equipment will also benefit several outreach programs that bring participants into the research laboratories of Rutgers/Camden faculty.
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0.915 |
2006 — 2009 |
Palenchar, Peter Roche, Alex Arbuckle-Keil, Georgia Martin, Joseph |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Acquisition of a High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (Hplc - Ms) System @ Rutgers University New Brunswick
With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Departmental Multiuser Instrument Acquisition (CRIF:MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Rutgers University in Camden will acquire a high performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) system. Research activities include synthesis of novel fluorinated compounds; studies on thyroid hormone metabolite analysis; investigations on the function of modified nucleosides and specificity in protein-protein interactions; and studies involving conducting and electroactive polymers.
Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (LC/MS) is an extremely powerful technique used for the separation and analysis of complex mixtures. This instrument will substantially strengthen scientific research at this primarily undergraduate institution, and these studies will have a solid impact in the areas of polymer chemistry and biochemistry.
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0.915 |