The NIH Center for
Structural and Functional Neuroscience (CSFN)

The NIH Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience (CSFN) was established at The University of Montana as a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) through the Institutional Development Award (IdeA) program of the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The research mission of the Center is to utilize approaches at the interface of chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and molecular biology to advance our understanding of protein structure and function in the central nervous system, particularly as related to signal transduction, transport, development and pathogenesis. The Center is also intended to serve as a core around which to develop infrastructure that benefits a much broader range of basic, clinical and translational biomedical research efforts in Montana. Multidisciplinary by design, Center investigators hold faculty positions in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Department of Chemistry and the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Montana. In addition to the Missoula campus, Center investigators are also located at the McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls and at Montana State University.

Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience

Basic Research Investigator Bios

Richard J. Bridges, Director, Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Montana
After completing undergraduate work in Biochemistry at the University of California at Davis, Richard Bridges received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Cornell Medical College in 1984. Following postdoctoral and faculty positions at the University of California at Irvine, he moved to the University of Montana as an Associate Professor in 1993. He was promoted to Professor in 1998. In 2000, Bridges became the Director of an NIH Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Structural and Functional Neuroscience at the University of Montana. Bridges serves on the Board of Directors of the Montana Neuroscience Institute Foundation.

Interests of the Bridges Laboratory Group
Research in the group focuses primarily on the neurochemistry of the amino acid glutamate. The balance between the physiological and pathological actions of glutamate is believed to be maintained, in part, by a family of glutamate transporter proteins. Work in the Bridges laboratory is aimed at understanding how these transport proteins work, how the systems normally function to regulate glutamate levels, and whether or not compromised function may contribute to brain pathology in neurological disorders like stroke, epilepsy, spinal cord injury, ALS or Alzheimer's disease. Experimental approaches used by the research group range from the organic synthesis and molecular modeling of novel glutamate analogues to the utilization of selective inhibitors and substrates as probes of transporter function and dysfunction. A particular emphasis is placed on delineating the structure activity relationships that appear to be unique to each of known transporter systems.

Charles M. Thompson, Co-Director, NSF-EPSCoR program
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Montana
After completing undergraduate work in Chemistry at Rutgers University, Charles Thompson received M.S. (1980) and Ph.D. (1982) degrees in Chemistry from The University of California, Riverside. Following postdoctoral appointments at Harvard University (192-1983) and The University of California, Berkeley (1983-1985) he held a faculty position in Chemistry at Loyola University of Chicago (1985-1994). He moved to the University of Montana as an Associate Professor in 1994 and was promoted to Professor in 1996. In 2000, he became the co-Director of the University of Montana National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) at the University of Montana.

Interests of the Thompson Laboratory Group
Research in the group uses a combination of [bio]chemical, cellular and spectroscopic approaches to solve problems in neuroscience, particularly the neurotransmitter systems, glutamate acetylcholine and glutamate. Three principal approaches a currently underway include: 1) Design and synthesis of pharmacologically active compounds to probe, regulate and inhibit neurotransmitter systems; 2) Computer-aided modeling to design, simulate and visualize pharmacophore models for receptors, enzymes and transporters; 3) Application of proteomics to neurotransmitter systems; and, 4) Development and applications of custom-tailored antibodies for immunologic detection in neurotransmitter systems.

David J. Poulsen
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
The University of Montana
After completing a Bachelors degree in Microbiology at Brigham Young University, Poulsen obtained his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Molecular Virology from the University of Delaware. Following the completion of his doctoral degree, he trained at the National Institutes of Health as an Intramural Training Research Award (ITRA) fellow in the Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Rocky Mountain Laboratories). Following his training at the NIH, Dr. Poulsen served a second post-doctoral fellowship in the CNS Gene Therapy Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. In 2001, Poulsen joined the Montana Neuroscience Institute as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Montana and as a Translational Research Scientist with St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center.

Interests of the Poulsen Laboratory
Research in the group is ultimately directed toward the development of gene therapy based applications for the treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), chronic pain, as well as spinal cord injury and regeneration. In addition, the Poulsen laboratory is also developing genetic therapies for the treatment of hearing loss through the regeneration of hair cells within the inner ear. The primary gene delivery vehicle used in the development of these treatment strategies is the Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV). AAV is the delivery vector for a number of reasons. It can infect multiple cell types including terminally differentiated neuron and is nonpathogenic. Although about 85% of the world population is infected with AAV by 10 years of age, it has never been associated with pathology or disease.
Experimental approaches used in the development of gene therapy applications in the Poulsen laboratory range from standard molecular cloning and gene expression to the stereotactic delivery of recombinant AAV to the brain and spinal cord.

 

John M. Gerdes
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Montana
After completing undergraduate work in Chemistry at Colorado State University during 1978, Gerdes received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California at Riverside (1982). Following a postdoctoral position at U. C. Berkeley, he joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) as a staff scientist in 1986. During 1991 he began his industrial experience, working for Zenenca, Ltd., which was followed by a faculty post within the Department of Chemistry at Central Washington University (1995). He was promoted to full professor in 2001 and subsequently joined the CFSN and the Department of Chemistry at The University of Montana during September, 2001.

Interests of the Gerdes Laboratory Group
Our research encompasses a full spectrum of medicinal chemistry studies of the serotonin (5-HT) system and other integrated complexes. Many of the investigations are focused on pre- and post-synaptic ligands and the structured-function of various 5-HT receptors (transporter, 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A-C). Our efforts involve small molecule superposition-consensus pharmacophore model generation through innovative computational means. The models serve to drive various de novo drug design venues and synthetic initiatives, including the fabrication of novel therapeutic agents, diagnostic probes and biochemical reagents. Of particular interest are those investigations that are carried out with collaborators at the Center for Functional Imaging, LBNL, where select drugs from our laboratory are evaluated as functional brain imaging agents in living brain.

 

Diana I. Lurie
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana
After completing undergraduate work in Biopsychology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Lurie received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from The University of Pennsylvania in 1989. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington, she moved to the University of Montana as an Assistant Professor in 1995. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2000.

Interests of the Lurie Laboratory Group
Research in the group focuses on the glial response to central nervous system (CNS) injury and disease. Specifically, Lurie and her co-workers are interested in cellular cascades that control the proliferation and migration of glial cells following damage, as well as those processes that regulate both the production of, and the glial response to, various growth factors. Recent work has centered on elucidating the role that tyrosine phosphorylation plays in these signal transduction events during CNS injury, including stroke. The Lurie laboratory has three major focus areas: 1) the response of the brain to stroke injury, 2) the response of the auditory brainstem to loss of activity in the ear, and 3) the effect of lead exposure on the developing auditory system.

 

Keith K. Parker
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of Montana
After completing undergraduate work in Psychology at Montana State University, Parker received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California, San Francisco in 1977. Following postdoctoral positions at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and the University of Denver, he moved to Western Montana College in 1981 where he remained until 1993. At that time he assumed his current position at the University of Montana.

Interests of the Parker Laboratory Group
The group has a long-standing applied interest in understanding headache, and particularly in developing better anti-migraine headache drugs. Because the neurotransmitter serotonin (5HT) has been implicated in the pathology of migraine headache, the group is focused on receptors that bind to serotonin. Because serotonin mechanisms are also associated with depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and panic disorder, this work has additional applications. Much of the work in the Parker laboratory is focused on the interface between the 5HT1a receptor, and the signal transducing molecule, G protein. Our recent work has emphasized small peptides, which we have synthesized based upon the sequences of intracellular loops 2 and 3. We are using these peptides as molecular tools for analyzing the specific structural requirements of the receptor-G protein system. These peptides may eventually be prototypes for new drug structures. A secondary focus of the lab is the analysis of natural product drugs for anti-migraine treatments.

 

C. Sean Esslinger
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Montana
After completing undergraduate work in Chemistry at New Mexico State University, Esslinger received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Colorado State University in 1992. Following a postdoctoral position at the University of California at Irvine, he became the first NIH postdoctoral fellow in the history of the University of Montana in 1997. In 2000, Esslinger joined the NIH Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Structural and Functional Neuroscience at the University of Montana. He is a research assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and is affiliated with the Department of Chemistry.

Interests of the Esslinger Laboratory Group

Research in the group focuses primarily on the neurochemistry of the amino acid glutamate, the major excitatory signaling molecule in central nervous system (CNS), and the glutamate metabolic precursor glutamine. This research is focused on delineating the process of membrane translocation within neurons and glia by these amino acids, and how these processes contribute to both normal and diseased brain function.. Through the use of asymmmetric syntheses of amino acid analogues with subsequent molecular modeling of the bioassay data, these interactions are analyzed to determine the important and possibly selective interactions occurring between the ligand and the various transport proteins. Testing of these novel synthetic analogues occurs in the Esslinger laboratory as well as the Bridges and Thompson laboratories.