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Sinead Clancy, Postdoctoral Fellow 2002-2006
Sinead joined the Slesinger lab in 2002. She studied the interaction of the Gα subunit with GIRK channels, in an attempt to elucidate the mechanism underlying receptor specificity of GIRK channel activation. She also examined the regulation of natively expressed GIRK channels in differentiated PC12 cells. She is continuing her training at Scripps. |
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Marie-Louise Lunn, Postdoctoral Fellow 2002-2006 Marie-Louise joined the Slesinger in 2002. She first examined the shift in the EC50 that occurs with heterotetramers of GIRK2/3 channels and GABAB receptors. She then worked on identifying novel proteins that interact with GIRK channels and discovered a new GIRK regulator protein – SNX27. SNX27 associates directly with GIRK2/3 channels through a PDZ domain, and down-regulates channels on the plasma membrane. She is working at Exiqon in Denmark. |
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Catherine Fowler, Postdoctoral Fellow 2001-2006 Catherine joined the Slesinger lab in 2001. She worked with Sinead on the study examining the Gα G protein interaction with GIRK channels and with Christine and Melissa on the mechanism of Gβγ activation of GIRK channels. Her main project involved monitoring the interaction of GIRK channels with other proteins in the signaling complex membrane using fluorescence energy transfer fluorescence (FRET) under TIRF illumination to study the FRET in the plasma membrane. She is continuing her training at Duke University. |
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Melissa Finley, Postdoctoral Fellow 2001-2005 Melissa joined the Slesinger lab in 2001. She studied the mechanism underlying Gβγ regulation of GIRK channels and helped set up experiments examining the targeting of GIRK channels in primary cultures of hippocampal neurons. She is working at SANDIA labs in New Mexico. |
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Frédérique Berton, Postdoctoral Fellow 1999-2003 Frédérique joined the lab in 1999. She worked with Melissa Finley and Sinead Clancy on projects identifying amino acids that interact with Gβγsubunits and specificity of Gα binding, respectively. |
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Rounak Nassirpour, UCSD Biology PhD student 2002-2008 Rounak joined the lab in 2004. She first worked with Marie-Louise on the project examining the function of SNX27 on GIRK channels. She then developed a system for studying the targeting and trafficking of GIRK channels in cultured hippocampal neurons. She discovered that morphine and CaMKII alter the expression of GIRK channels in hippocampal neurons, leading to less GABAB receptor-dependent inhibition. She started a postdoc at Pfizer in 2008. |
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Sandip Panicker, UCSD Neuroscience PhD student 2000-2005 Sandip joined the Slesinger lab in 2001. He used SCAM methodology to the localize the gate of 5-HT3 to the middle of the M2 transmembrane domain. In addition, he examined the movement of the selectivity filter of the 5-HT3 receptor using Cd2+ as a probe. He then did a postdoc with Roger Nicoll at UCSF and is currently working at Roche in the Bay area. |
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Manpreet Mutneja, UCSD Biology PhD student 2001 - 2003
Manpreet studied GABAB receptor-dependent desensitization of GIRK currents and discovered that endogenous levels of RGS proteins can modulate the rate of desensitization. He graduated in 2003 and is currently working at Chemicon/Millipore in Temecula. |