Welcome!
The Vollum Institute is a privately endowed research institute at Oregon Health & Science University dedicated to basic research that will lead to new treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases. Vollum scientists have broad-ranging interests that coalesce around molecular neurobiology and cellular physiology. Their work has transformed the field of neuroscience and, in particular, has provided important advances in the study of synaptic transmission, neuronal development, neurotransmitter transporters, ion channels and the neurobiology of disease.
AVDS proposal to improve diversity at OHSU
Since its formation nearly four years ago, the Alliance for Visible Diversity in Science (AVDS) has become a leader for racial justice at OHSU — pushing for policy changes to support diversity and creating educational opportunities and social events to support dialogue about systemic racism.
Learn more about their proposal for Racial Equity and Inclusion Centers
Upcoming Vollum Seminars
Work-in-Progress Talks
Friday | October 2 | 12–1 pm
Aging synapses in the auditory brainstem
André Dagostin, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, von Gersdorff Lab
The widespread roles of intracellular trafficking in the developing mouse brain
Sarah Santiago, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Barnes Lab
Learn more about the Friday WiP Seminars Series and get the Webex link
2020 Neuroscience Postbaccalaureate Initiative scholars announced
Please join us in welcoming the 2020 Neuroscience Postbaccalaureate Initiative scholars — Nina Luong and Allison Taylor!
Nina was a Human Physiology major at the University of Oregon. She will be mentored by Kevin Wright in the Vollum Institute and Ian Martin in the Jungers Center.
Allison hails from the University of North Texas where she was a Biology major. Marc Freeman and Kelly Monk in the Vollum will be her mentors.
Learn more about the Neuroscience Postbaccalaureate Initiative at OHSU
Mandel lab’s second success in programmable RNA editing leads to a research ‘first’
New ‘proof of principle’ research from the lab of Gail Mandel has demonstrated for the first time that in vivo programmable RNA editing can be used to repair mutations in mouse models of neurological disease. In the study published July 14 in the journal Cell Reports, first author John Sinnamon and collaborators introduced adeno-associated virus bearing Mecp2 guide-targeted editing enzyme or ‘editase’ into the hippocampus of a Rett syndrome mouse model. Research from the team showed that the ‘editase’ repaired approximately half of the mutant Mecp2 RNA and restored MeCP2 protein function across multiple neuronal populations.
Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the X-linked transcription factor methyl CpG binding protein 2, or MECP2, which is critical for normal brain function. Mutations that cause Rett syndrome result in reductions in MeCP2 levels and/or disrupt MeCP2 function.
This is the group’s second success using the site-directed RNA approach and builds on research from 2017 when they successfully repaired mutant Mecp2 mRNA and restored MeCP2 protein function in cultured neurons from a Rett mouse model.
Read the press release at OHSU News
Learn more about the Rett Syndrome Research Trust
YouTube: Repairing the Underlying Cause of Rett Syndrome Through RNA Editing
Kevin Wright receives Cure CMD grant to study dystroglycanopathy
Vollum Institute scientist, Kevin Wright, was recently awarded a grant from Cure CMD to study the synaptic defects of dystroglycanopathy in a mouse model.
Dystroglycan is a transmembrane protein that connects the extracellular matrix and the actin cytoskeleton. Defects in Dystroglycan glycosylation lead to a form of congenital muscular dystrophy referred to as dystroglycanopathy. Patients with dystroglycanopathy can display a wide range of nervous system defects. Previous work from many labs, including the Wright lab, has identified critical roles for Dystroglycan in regulating neuronal migration and axon guidance. Recently, it was discovered that Dystroglycan also functions at subsets of synapses in the brain. The Wright lab will use a combination of imaging and electrophysiological approaches in several mouse models of dystroglycanopathy to define the role of dystroglycan in the formation and maintenance of inhibitory synapses in the hippocampus and cerebellum. They will also test whether restoring dystroglycan function is sufficient to rescue synaptic dysfunction in these models. Ultimately, these results will provide insight into the neurodevelopmental deficits in patients with dystroglycanopathies and test whether AAV-based gene therapies have therapeutic potential.
Cure CMD is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 by three parents whose children were affected by Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. Its mission is to find and fund high potential research and clinical trials which could lead to the development of viable therapies to slow, or even stop, the progression of CMDs.
Research highlights
Live-imaging of astrocyte morphogenesis and function in zebrafish neural circuits
Chen J, Poskanzer KE, Freeman MR, Monk KR
Nature Neurosci. 2020 Sep 7; doi: 10.1038/s41593-020-0703-x [Online ahead of print]
Molecular principles of assembly, activation, and inhibition in epithelial sodium channel
Noreng S, Posert R, Bharadwaj A, Houser A, Baconguis I
eLife 2020 Jul 30; 9:e59038
In vivo repair of a protein underlying a neurological disorder by programmable RNA editing
Sinnamon JR, Kim SY, Fisk JR, Song Z, Nakai H, Jeng S, McWeeney SK, Mandel G
Cell Reports 2020 Jul 14; 32(2):107878
Chemical and structural investigation of the paroxetine-human serotonin transporter complex
Coleman JA, Navratna V, Antermite D, Yang D, Bull JA, Gouaux E
eLife 2020 Jul 3; 9:e56427
More honors and accolades
- 2019 Neuroscience Postbaccalaureate Initiative Scholars accepted to graduate programs
- Kim Engeln named SfN Neuroscience Scholars Program Associate
- Kathleen Beeson recognized for outstanding journal article
- Alejandra Fernandez receives NINDS K01 Award
- Gail Mandel participates in collaborative effort to reverse Rett Syndrome
Recognition for our early career awardees
Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are usually supported by research grants to individual faculty or by institutional training grants from the NIH. However, a sought-after perk for trainees is to obtain an individual fellowship from federal sources or foundations. Such awards are an honor and also provide important financial support for the trainee and their lab. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the Vollum Institute have been remarkably successful in obtaining these awards over the past few years. This is a credit to the quality of the trainees and the support the receive from their mentors. Congratulations to all.
Congratulations to the Neuroscience Graduate Program and Vollum graduate researchers — Sweta Adhikary, Kylie McPherson, Taylor Mighell and Sigrid Noreng — who received 2019 N.L. Tartar Trust Fellowships. The $2,000 grants are awarded annually by the OHSU School of Medicine as a means to support research endeavors and career development. Keep up the great work!
Congratulations to all of our graduate researchers in the Vollum/OHSU Neuroscience Graduate Program who received ARCS Foundation Scholar Awards from the ARCS Oregon Chapter!
First Year: Teva Bracha and Kim Engeln
Second Year: Sweta Adhikary, Amelia Culp, Makayla Freitas and Sierra Smith
Third Year: Gregory Hamersky and Jennifer Jahncke
Learn more about these scholars and the ARCS Foundation Oregon
Sweta Adhikary, Williams Lab
NIDA F30 Predoctoral Fellowship (MD/PhD): “Adaptations following chronic opioid treatment and withdrawal”
Sarah Clark, Ph.D., Gouaux Lab
NIDCD F32 Fellowship: "Elucidating the architecture and composition of the hair cell mechanotransduction complex"
Alec Condon, Williams Lab
NIDA F31 Predoctoral Fellowship: "Desensitization and recovery of D2 autoreceptors"
Alejandra Fernandez, Ph.D., Wright Lab
NINDS K01 Postdoctoral Career Development Award: "The role of Pten on primary sensory neuron development"
Alexandra Houser, Baconguis Lab
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship
Farzad Jalali-Yazdi, Ph.D., Gouaux Lab
NIMH F32 Fellowship: "Elucidating the structural mechanism of NMDA receptor modulation by cryo-electon microscopy"
Yunsik Kang, Ph.D., Freeman Lab
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fellowship: "Molecular mechanisms regulating phagaocytosis of neurons"
Patrick Kerstein, Ph.D., Wright Lab
NEI F32 Fellowship: "Gbx2 regulates the development of an atypical amacrine cell"
Katy Lehmann, Freeman Lab
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship
Jiaxing Li, Ph.D., Monk Lab
National MS Society Postdoctoral Fellowship: “Investigating synapse assembly and disassembly in oligodendrocyte precursor cells”
Brendan Lujan, Ph.D., von Gersdorff Lab
NIDCD F32 Fellowship: "Retrograde signaling and the modulation of short-term plasticity at an auditory synapse"
Dan Miller, Wright Lab
NINDS F31 Predoctoral Fellowship: "Mechanism of dystroglycan function at inhibitory synapses"
John Sinnamon, Ph.D., Mandel Lab
Rett Syndrome Research Trust Award: "Using site-directed RNA editing to repair Rett Syndrome mutations in vivo"
Janelle Tobias, Frank Lab
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship