Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2011

Mentor: Ege T. Kavalali                   
Department:   Neuroscience           
Room number: NB4.214     
Mail Code:     9111  
Phone number: 8-1682       
E-mail:            ege.kavalali@utsouthwestern.edu 
Project title:    Optical analysis of synaptic transmission 

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):       N/A

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):       N/A (Nannan will not be associated with live animals, however, he will work with neuronal cultures extracted from rats and mice by others).

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)

Brief Description of Project:

Synaptic transmission is mediated by fusion and retrieval of membranous organelles called synaptic vesicles. During his stay in our laboratory Nannan will design novel optical probes to monitor synaptic vesicle recycling in neurons and test them using live fluorescence imaging. Nannan's background in molecular biology will be extremely instrumental in the design of these new probes. He will learn state-of-the-art fluorescence imaging and electrophysiological approaches to analyze neuronal function.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:

I mentored a MSTP student Dr. Tuhin Virmani during his Ph.D. I am planning to mentor another MSTP student next year.