(405) 271-8001 Ext. 47964
Education:
PhD, Neuroscience, Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany
MBBS, JN Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, India
Fellowship:
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Clinical/Research Interests:
The primary goal of my research is to understand the mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity and modulation of neuronal activity. These phenomena underlie most adaptive behavior including learning and memory; thus, advances in knowledge in this area elucidate the biological mechanisms that mediate our experience-dependent behavior. This research also provides a foundation to understand the mechanistic underpinnings of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. We use cutting-edge techniques of physiological methods (patch-clamp electrophysiology, optogenetics, Ca2+ imaging), biochemical analysis of proteins and lipids at the molecular level (BRET assays, surface biotinylation, proximity labeling, click chemistry), in vivo and in vitro molecular manipulations (stereotaxic in vivo injections, virus preparation, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout), imaging on brain sections and primary neuronal cultures (immunochemistry, RNAscope, antibody feeding assays), and behavioral analysis to answer outstanding questions in the mammalian brain.
The ongoing projects in my laboratory, funded by the National Institutes of Health and various private foundations, are as follows:
- Trafficking of AMPA-type glutamate receptors during long-term synaptic plasticity underlying learning and memory
- Intracellular regulation of oxytocin receptor activity and trafficking in neurons during social behavior
- Regulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity by very long chain fatty acids