Neuronal Signalling Mechanisms

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
• Professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics
• Department Vice-Chair

EDUCATION:
• BS Florida State University, Tallahassee, 1962
• MS Florida State University, Tallahassee, 1964
• PhD University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1967
• Postdoc, laboratory of Dr David Firth at McGill University in Montreal and Dr Bert Verveen at the University of Leiden, in The Netherlands

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Dr Louis J De Felice and his laboratory focus on serotonin (5HT), dopamine (DA), and norepinephrine (NE) transporters. Serotonin transporters (SERTs), dopamine transporters (DATs), and NE transporters (NETs) are integral membrane proteins. Drugs, such as cocaine and antidepressants, act on neurotransmitter transporters and amphetamines and methamphetamines are taken up by neurons through these transporters, underlining the importance of these molecules on human behavior. Using cloned transporters transfected into host cells and native neuronal cells in tissue culture, De Felice and his group measure the ionic currents accompanying transport using two-microelectrode voltage clamp in frog oocytes and patch-clamp techniques on single mammalian cells. Cell-detached patches allow the lab to examine the kinetics of individual transporters, analogous to the study of single ion channels, and to study the regulation of transporters by ancillary proteins and small molecules. This information, in combination with classical radio-labeled uptake, amperometry, cell surface markers and correlative structural studies provide a comprehensive approach to the structure and function of neurotransmitter transporters.