Materials directly related to my basic research.
TEACHING WEBSITES
Chlling Out With Growth Factors. Presentation to the Wayne State University Cardiovascular Research Institute, Sept 12, 2008. Powerpoint file. Can be opened in Explorer.
Brain Ischemia 101. Online teaching syllabus for our Residents and Medical Students.
Introduction to Brain Ischemia (2008). Lecture for our Emergency Medicine Residents.
Brain Ischemia 102. Flashcards at Flaschcard Exchange. This site is free for people who just want to use the cards (you have to register for the free account--don't worry, it's cool). These cards are used by myself and my students for review. Updated regularly.
Brain Ischemia Literature Flashcards. How I pimp myself on literature I'm reading.
Apoptosis, Growth Factors, and Neuronal Death - originally prepared for my part of the Advanced Neurophysiology Seminar at Wayne State University School of Medicine. A little dated now, and I was a little too enamored of bells and whistles in websites at the time. But I still find it's a good way to introduce my new students to the fundamentals of apoptosis, especially as it relates to brain ischemia, which is my Thang.
Organelle Dysfunction and Cell Death - Lecture for Physiology Seminar at Wayne State School of Medicine. Best viewed in Explorer, unfortunately.
PAPERS
Insulin blocks cytochrome c release in the reperfused brain through PI3-K signaling and by promoting Bax/Bcl-XL binding. From the moment Tom Sanderson and I discovered that insulin blocks cytochrome c release in the reperfused brain, it took nearly five years to get it into a published manuscript. The story behind this one could be a novel--setbacks, disappointments, a bad electrode, an authorship dispute--plenty of pain and disappointment for everybody. But it was worth it.
Effect of brain ischemia and reperfusion on the localization of phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha - in this paper, our lab demonstrated that eIF2a is differentially phosphorylated in different parts of the brain very early during reperfusion after global brain ischemia. Don DeGracia was the mover and shaker on this one.
Apoptosis - Review article penned by myself and my mentor, Blaine White, published in Academic Emergency Medicine. This article covered the essentials of cell death signaling as we understood them at the time, specifically as related to brain ischemia.
Insulin induces dephosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha and restores protein synthesis in vulnerable hippocampal neurons after transient brain ischemia - This paper encompasses my dissertation work, formed the basis of 2 NIH grants, and started a 10-year-long love-hate relationship between myself and insulin-ischemia research.
Brain ischemia and reperfusion: molecular mechanisms of neuronal injury - a major review article published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences.
Brain ischemia and reperfusion activates the eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha kinase, PERK - Thanks to the insight of my colleague Rita Kumar, the world now knows which of the four known eIF2-alpha kinases is responsible for eIF2-alpha phosphorylation during brain reperfusion. Ever since then, she's been one of the PERKY GIRLS!
Characterization of the eIF2-associated protein p67 during brain ischemia and reperfusion. - The hypothesis was that deglycosylation of p67 during early reperfusion would play a part in eIF2 alpha phosphorylation. Not so much. Cheri Owen and Chris Lipinski worked on this one.
Insulin blocks cytochrome c release in the reperfused brain through PI3-K signaling and by promoting Bax/Bcl-X(L) binding. Insulin blocks the critical step in intrinisic apoptosis after brain ischemia. There's a really funny behind-the-scenes story about this one. Just ask Sullydog if you want to be in on the joke.
Insulin Activates the PI3K-Akt Survival Pathway in Vulnerable Neurons following Global Brain Ischemia. High-dose insulin induces phosphorylation of Akt, a multi-purpose surival signaling kinase, by way of PI3K. The steps between Akt and inhibition of cytochrome c release seemed obvious to us. The data had other ideas, which means we still have a lot of questions to answer. Recently accepted by Neurological Research; I'll post the link when it's available.