CAREER: Team-Based Research as an Integrative Teaching Tool for Secondary, Post-Secondary and Graduate Education

The University Of Louisiana At Monroe, Monroe LA

Investigators

Abstract

This project explores the fundamental mechanisms by which human central nervous system nicotinic and serotonin receptors interact with endogenous compounds as well as therapeutic drugs and drugs of abuse. This project is unique in that it utilizes general anesthetics to probe the receptor's molecular structure. Anesthetics exert a wide range of effects on these receptors, displaying different effects on different receptors. Using cloned receptors and modern molecular techniques, this project will identify the differences between these receptors at a molecular level that give rise to these differential effects. By utilizing this information, an improved understanding of the relationship between the site of drug interaction and the functional effects on the receptor can be achieved. The focus on general anesthetics increases the scope of the project by enabling the mapping of several different functional regions of the receptor. These functional regions may provide additional targets for drug development, thus permitting a "fine tuning" of the receptors function via novel pharmaceutical agents. New drug types developed as a result of this research would be potentially useful in the treatment and prevention of a number of human diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, age associated memory impairment, nausea associated with chemotherapy and withdrawal from drugs of abuse. Since this project investigates fundamental structural and functional relationships of receptor proteins, this research will also increase our knowledge of other similar proteins - thus facilitating a broader understanding of protein/drug interactions. In addition to scientific benefits, the educational impact of this project is also substantial. Students from widely different educational backgrounds will conduct much of the proposed research. High school teachers, high school students, undergraduate college students and graduate students will work as a team to accomplish the research goals of the project. The composition of the research team is designed to establish improved ties between secondary and post-secondary education and encourage high school students to pursue careers in biomedical research.