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USF Neuroscience Collaborative

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Recruitment of Top Neuroscientists and their Funding to USF

  • The Neuroscience Collaborative at USF has been a major factor in the recruitment of a top group of neuroscientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center. Drs. Joseph Walton, and David and Ann Eddins who constitute the nucleus of The Hearing and Deafness Research Group headed by Dr. Robert Frisina, bringing $5 million of multi-grant support to USF.

Extramural Funding to USF Neuroscience Faculty following NSC Seed Grants

  • The USF NSC Translational Collaborative Grant for study of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has led to a 2 year $1.8 million of DOD funding for the project “Battlefield-Related Injury, PTSD and Disability – Veterans Reintegration Strategy”.

  • The USF NSC Veterans Affairs Collaborative Grant for study of the anti-apoptotic effects of nicotinic agonists with Bay Pines VA has resulted in a 5-year NIH grant award of $1.6 million to Drs. Bruce Citron and Lynn Wecker.

  • The USF NSC Translational Collaborative Grant for the development of a cubic silicon brain-machine interface system to Drs. Steven Saddow and Ed Weber has resulted in a 2 year $1.5 million (direct cost) grant from DARPA on the “Biocompatibility of Advanced Materials for Brain Interfaces (BAMBI)”.

  • The USF NSC Translational Collaborative Grant for the study of the interactions of cdk7 spliced variants with PKCδ during glioma cell cycle/proliferation to Drs. Nikita Patel and Acevedo Duncan has resulted in a 4 year VA Merit Review Grant of $600,000 for the ongoing study of the apoptotic pathways underlying adipogenesis. This project examines mechanisms of alternatively spliced proteins affecting adipogenesis and the role of PKC This project examines mechanisms of alternatively spliced proteins affecting adipogenesis and the role of PKCδ in adipocyte survival.

Publications and Presentations per USF NSC Grant

Development of a Cubic Silicon Brain-machine Interface System

PI’s: Stephen E. Saddow, Ph.D. and Edwin Weeber, Ph.D

Publications

  • Oliveros, C. L. Frewin; S. Schoell, M. Hoeb, M. Stutzmann, I. Sharp, S. E. Saddow, “Assessment of cell proliferation on 6H-SiC bio-functionalized with self-assembled monolayers”, Journal of Molecular Recognition, (Under Review).
  • L. Abbati, C. L. Frewin, J. King, V. Germano, P. Placidi, E. Weeber, A. Scorzoni and S. E. Saddow, “A Bidirectional High-Voltage, High-Precision System for Neural Signal Stimulation and Recording”, Proceedings of the IEEE EMBS, (Under Review).

Presentations

  • L. Frewin, “Constructing the Brain-Machine Interface”, Science and Society Symposium, April 11, 2012.
  • L. Frewin, “Developing Cubic Silicon Carbide (3C-SiC) for Intracortical Implants”, Lunch in Translation, USF Health Byrd Alzheimers Institute, May 11, 2012.
  • C. L. Frewin, “Developing Cubic Silicon Carbide (3C-SiC) for Intracortical Implants”, University of Perugia, Italy, May 14, 2012.
  • C. L. Frewin, “Developing Cubic Silicon Carbide (3C-SiC) for Intracortical Implants”, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Pisa, Italy, May 14, 2012.
  • C. L. Frewin, “Brain Machine Interface: New Hope to Improve Quality of Life of Persons Suffering from Paralysis and Debilitating Diseases”, Geriatrics: Critical Knowledge for Quality Care” Conference June 19, 2012.

Heat Shock Protein Hsp27 as Regulator of Tau Fibril Assembly

PI’s: Martin Muschol, Ph.D. and Chad Dickey, Ph.D.

Publications

  • Abisambra, J. F., L.J. Blair, S.E. Hill, J.R. Jones, C. Kraft, C., J. Rogers, J.Koren, U.K. Jinwal, L. Lawson, A.G. Johnson, D. Wilcock, J.C. O'Leary, K. Jansen-West, M. Muschol, T.E. Golde, E.J. Weeber, J. Banko, C.A. Dickey (2010) Phosphory-lation Dynamics Regulate Hsp27-Mediated Rescue of Neuronal Plasticity Deficits in Tau Transgenic Mice, J. Neurosci. 30:15374-15382.

  • Hill, S.E., T. Miti, T. Richmond and M. Muschol (2011) Spatial Extent of Charge Repulsion Regulates Assembly Pathways for Lysozyme Amyloid Fibrils, (2011) PLoS One 6: e18171/1-12.

Presentations

  • "Charge Repulsion Regulates the Assembly Pathways of Lysozyme Amyloid Fibrils" Shannon Hill, Tatiana Miti and Martin Muschol, FASEB Conference on The Molecular & Cellular Origins & the Biomedical Consequences of Protein Aggregation, Snowmass, Co (2011)
  • " Charge Repulsion and Salt-mediated Charge Screening as Regulators of Amyloid Assembly Pathways " Shannon Hill, Tatiana Miti and Martin Muschol, Symposium on "Multiscale Approach to Amyloid Diseases" Microscopy and Microanalysis Conference, Nashville, Tn (2011)
  • "Using Light Scattering To Study Self-Assembly of Amyloid Fibrils" Malvern Particle Summit, Boston, MA (2010), Invited Speaker
  • "Does Thioflavin-T detect Oligomers formed during amyloid fibril assembly" Christopher Persichilli Shannon E. Hill Jason Mast Martin Muschol. Biophysical Society Meeting, Baltimore, MD (2011)
  • "Modulation of Tau Fibril Growth In Vitro by Hsp27 vs FKBP51 and their Mutants" Shannon Hill, Tatiana Miti, Jeffery Jones, Zachary Davey, Jose F. Abisambra, Chad Dickey, and Martin Muschol, Biophysical Society Meeting, Baltimore, MD (2011)
  • “Exploiting the Diversity of the Chaperone Repertoire to Treat Disease of Aging” University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2011) Invited Speaker
  • “Exploiting the Diversity of the Chaperone Repertoire to Treat Disease of Aging” Columbia University, New York, New York (2011) Invited Speaker
  • “Exploiting the Diversity of the Chaperone Repertoire to Treat Disease of Aging” Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida (2011) Invited Speaker
  • “Exploiting the Diversity of the Chaperone Repertoire to Treat Tauopathies” Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia (2010) Invited Speaker
  • “Deconstructing the Hsp90/tau machine reveals important roles for FKBP51 and Cdc37” Aging, Tau Protein and Dementias Tokyo, Japan (2010) Invited Speaker
  • “Exploiting the Diversity of the Chaperone Repertoire to Treat Tauopathies” International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias Indianapolis, Indiana (2010) Invited Speaker

Interactions of cdk7 spliced variants with PKC-iota during glioma cell cycle/proliferation

PIs: Nikita Patel, Ph.D. and Acevedo Duncan, Ph.D.

Publications

  • André Apostolatos, Shijie Song, Sandra Acosta, Mishka Peart, James E. Watson, Paula Bickford, Denise R. Cooper, and Niketa A. Patel. Insulin Promotes Neuronal Survival via the Alternatively Spliced Protein Kinase C_II Isoform.Journal of Biological Chemistry. Papers in Press, January 24, 2012, DOI 10.1074/jbc.M111.313080

Presentations

  • Kimonis, E.R., Howard, A.L., Groer, M., & Dembo, R. (2011, May). Do incarcerated boys high on callous-unemotional traits show lower resting cortisol levels? Symposium conducted at the 4th Biennial Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy, Montreal, CA.
  • Howard, A.L., Kimonis, E.R., & Hall, J.R. (2011, September). Can a laboratory measure of emotional processing enhance the statistical prediction of aggression in juvenile offenders with callous-unemotional traits? Poster session presented at the 51st Annual Meeting for the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Boston, MA.

Nutraceutical Effects of Delayed Eyeblink Conditioning in Humans

PIs: Brent Small, Ph.D. and Paula Bickford, Ph.D.

Presentation

  • Handing, E., Rawson, K. S., Kumar, N. B., Bickford, P. C., McEvoy, C. L. & Small, B. J. (2012, April). Impact of nutrient intake on cognitive functioning among older adults. Paper presented at the Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA.), as well as at the USF Health Neuroscience Research Day.

Robotics Modeling of Skilled Hand Tasks

PIs: Sang-Hie, Ph.D. Lee and Yu Sun, Ph.D.

Publications

  • Lee, Sang-Hie, Carey, Stephanie, Dubey, Rajiv, and Matz, Rachel. “Intervention Program in College Instrumental Musicians & Kinematics in Cello and Flute Playing: A Combined Intervention Program of Yogic Breathing and Muscle Strengthening and Flexibility Exercises.” Medical Problems of Performing Artists, June, 2012, 85-93.

Presentations

  • Lee, Sang-Hie, Invited Lecture. "What's in the Hand? Pianists' Biomechanics and Ergonomics." Florida Mid-State Music Teachers Association. January 2013.
  • Lee, Sag-Hie, “What’s up Doc: Music and Medicine, a New Paradigm for Music Performer Education.” 4th World Piano Conference, Novi Sad, Serbia. June 27-July 3, 2012.
  • Lee, Sang-Hie with Judith Palac, Panel presentation, “What’s up doc? Music and Medicine: A New Paradigm in Music Teaching.” Fifty-Fourth National Conference of the College Music Society, Richmond, Virginia. October 20-23, 2011.
  • Lee, Sang-Hie, “What’s in the Hands? Pianists’ Biomechanics and Ergonomics.” Lakeland, FL Piano Teachers Association. September 10, 2011.
  • Lee, Sang-Hie. Panel, “The Future in Dance and Music Medicine/Science” with Janis Plastino, Robin Kish, and Bonnie Robson. The Twenty-Ninth Annual Symposium of Medical Problems of Performing Artists. Snowmass, Colorado. July 21-24, 2011.

Neuroprotective Effects of Nicotinic Agonistics Involve Anti-apoptotic Actions

PIs: Lynn Wecker, Ph.D. and Bruce Citron, Ph.D.

Publications

Published Abstracts: Wecker, L., Engberg, M.E., Philpot, R.M., Lambert, C.S., Bickford, P.C., and Hudson, C. (2011) Neuronal nicotinic receptor agonists ameliorate 3-acetylpyridine-induced ataxia. Program #/Poster# 746.04. Neuroscience Meeting Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience, Online.

  • Wecker, L., Engberg, M.E., Philpot, R.M., Lambert, C.S., Bickford, P.C., and Hudson, C. (2011) Neuronal nicotinic receptor agonists ameliorate 3-acetylpyridine-induced ataxia. Biochem. Pharmacol. 82: 1041.
  • Lambert, C.S., Philpot, R.M., Engberg, M.E., and Wecker, L.(2012) Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are involved.

Aerobic Exercise and Nicotine Withdrawal

PI’s: David J. Drobes, Ph.D. and Marcus Kilpatrick, Ph.D.

Presentations

  • Drobes, David,. Kilpatrick Marcus., Van Rensburg, Kate Janse., Ehlke, Sarah,. MacQueen, David, “The effects of exercise on smoking behavior: a topography study”. Society for Research of Nicotine and Tobacco.
  • Drobes, David,. Kilpatrick Marcus., Van Rensburg, Kate Janse., Ehlke, Sarah,. MacQueen, David, “The effects of exercise on smoking behavior: a topography study”. Moffitt Scientific Symposium.

8th annual Symposium of Early Alzheimer's Disease

PI: Huntington Potter, Ph.D. and Ranjan Duara, MD.

Publications

  • Duara, R., Loewenstein, D.A., Greig, M.T., Acevedo, A., Potter, E., Appel, J., Raj, A., Schinka, J., Schofield, E., Barker, W., Wu, Y., Potter, H. (2010). Reliability and Validity of an Algorithm for the Diagnosis of Normal Cognition, MCI and Dementia: Implications for Multi-Center Research Studies”. Am. J. Geriatric Psychiatry 18:363-370.

  • Schinka, JA., Raj, A., Loewenstein, DA., Small B., J, Duara, R., Potter, H. (2010). The cognitive change checklist (3CL): cross-validation of a measure of change in everyday cognition, <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19575419>  Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 Mar;25(3):266-74.