Name: Candice Askwith
Email: askwith.1@osu.edu
Department: Neuroscience
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: No (never applied)
Category of research: Basic
Research Description: My lab is interested in understanding the role of ion channels in neuronal signaling and neurological disease. Currently, we are studying the newly described acid-sensing ion channels and how they affect neurological damage and psychiatric disorders. On a cellular level, the acid-sensing ion channels are activated by extracellular acidic pH and modulate synaptic transmission. Physiologically, they are involved in learning, anxiety, fear, pain, mood, and sensory transduction. During pathological conditions which result in neurological injury, inappropriate activation of acid-sensing channels leads to neuronal death. Currently, the acid sensing ion channels are regarded as exciting new targets for therapeutics to prevent pain, depression, PTSD, anxiety spectrum disorders, and neuronal damage following stroke, traumatic injury, and inflammation. Yet, we know little about these highly conserved ion channels as they have only recently been discovered. Currently, we have projects to (1) understand how acid sensing ion channels cause neuronal death on a cellular level and develop new strategies to prevent it; (2) determine the role that acid sensing ion channels (and pH) play in synaptic physiology; (3) develop high throughput screens to identify pharmacological antagonists for channel activity; and (4) investigate the consequences of genetic variation within acid sensing ion channel genes in humans.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Molecular Pharmacology; Pharmacogenomics & Pharmacotherapeutics; Neuroscience; Neurologic Disorders; Psychological Disorders
Name: Stuart Mangel
Email: mangel.1@osu.edu
Department: Neuroscience
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of research: Basic; translational
Research Description: We use the vertebrate retina, which is part of the brain, as a model system for understanding brain function and dysfunction due to its easy accessibility and well-characterized inputs. Medical students will be able to work on one of two ongoing NIH-funded research projects. One project is investigating how the circadian (24-hour) clock in the retina modulates cellular and molecular processes and chemical and electrical synaptic transmission in the day and night. We are also investigating how disrupting circadian processes mediates neural degeneration in animal models of blindness. The other project is studying the cellular, subcellular, and neural network mechanisms that underlie the detection of the direction in which objects move. We employ a multidisciplinary approach for these projects, utilizing genetically modified animal models, and electrophysiological, cell/molecular, neurochemical, anatomical, and computational techniques.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Neuroscience; Neurologic Disorders; Eye Disease