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Philpot and Stuber labs discover a role for GABA co-release in the brain’s reward pathway

February 17, 2016
In a paper published in Nature Communications, Janet Berrios, a graduate student in the Philpot lab, discovered that the loss of UBE3A decreases the release of the GABA neurotransmitter and alters reward-seeking behavior in an important neural pathway once presumed to be principally regulated by the dopamine neurotransmitter.

16th Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize Recipient Announced

February 9, 2016
The UNC School of Medicine has awarded the 16th Perl-UNC Prize to Christopher A. Walsh, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Genetics and Genomics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Bullard Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at Harvard Medical School, for the “discovery of genes and mechanisms regulating human cortical...

Stuber Publishes Review in Nature Neuroscience

February 4, 2016
Garret Stuber publishes new review in Nature Neuroscience on the neurocircuitry of the lateral hypothalamus for feeding and reward related behaviors.

Zylka and Philpot to lead UNC Neuroscience Center

January 20, 2016
Mark Zylka, PhD, will serve as director and Ben Philpot, PhD, will serve as associate director of the UNC Neuroscience Center at the UNC School of Medicine, effective July 1. William Snider, MD, who has served as the center’s director for nearly 17 years, will step down from his leadership...

Deshmukh lab discovers a novel role of Dicer in the rapidly dividing cells of the developing brain and brain tumors

January 10, 2016
In a paper published in Cell Reports, Vijay Swahari, a postdoctoral fellow in Deshmukh lab, identifies how the critical role of Dicer in DNA damage response can be exploited for therapy in aggressive brain tumors like Medulloblastoma.

Gupton Lab Publishes in Developmental Cell

December 22, 2015
In the article published in Developmental Cell, Stephanie Gupton's lab shows that the E3 ligase TRIM9 ubiquitinates the actin polymerase VASP, altering VASP tip localization and dynamics and reducing filopodial stability and density.

Spencer Smith discusses new microscope in Endeavours

December 22, 2015
Spencer Smith developed a new microscope which can simultaneously view individual neurons firing in two or more brain regions of a moving laboratory animal, enabling researchers to see how different areas of the brain work together to process information.

Deshmukh lab discovers the role of a neuronal stress pathway in triggering Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) reactivation

December 11, 2015
In a paper published in Cell Host and Microbe, Anna Cliffe, a postdoctoral fellow in Deshmukh lab, identifies how activation of JNK in response to neuronal stress triggers changes to the HSV chromatin and reactivation from latency.

Bryan Roth describes a new tool to probe the activity of orphan receptors in the brain in the journal Nature

November 16, 2015
In an article published in Nature, Bryan Roth describes a new tool to probe the activity of orphan receptors, illuminating their roles in behavior and making them accessible for drug discovery.

16th Annual UNC Neuroscience Symposium held Oct 8

October 9, 2015
The 16th Annual UNC Neuroscience Symposium was held on October 8th at the Carolina Club. Attendees from the UNC Neuroscience community enjoyed a breakfast reception with the speakers, Joseph G. Gleeson, Yang Dan and Alcino Silva, three riveting talks followed by question-and-answer sessions, and a buffet luncheon at the conclusion.