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. Learn more about the Vollum's mission
Swetha Murthy receives Faculty Excellence and Innovation Award
The Vollum Institute congratulates assistant scientist, Swetha Murthy, Ph.D., one of two recipients of this year's Faculty Excellence and Innovation Awards. This unique award recognizes some of the most promising scientists at OHSU and is made possible by the Silver Family Innovation Foundation.
Read the press release at OHSU News
Learn more about Dr. Murthy's research
Upcoming Vollum Seminars in 2021
Work-in-Progress Talks (virtual)
Friday | April 16, 2021 | 12–1 pm
The glial injury response: Novel methods for mRNA and ribosome detection in the adult fly brain
Petra Richer, Graduate Student, Logan Lab
Molecular mechanisms regulating astrocyte morphogenesis and function
Jiakun Chen, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Freeman & Monk Labs
Vollum NGP Students recognized with NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
Congratulations go out to Amelia Culp and Makayla Freitas, second-year students in the Vollum Institute Neuroscience Graduate Program, who received 2021 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Amelia is mentored by Tianyi Mao, and Makayla is mentored by Eric Gouaux; both mentors are faculty members in the Vollum Institute.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports exceptionally promising individuals early in their graduate training in science, technology, education, or mathematics. Amelia and Makayla are among 2,074 awardees selected from more than 10,000 applicants.
More honors and accolades
- Eric Gouaux lab provides structure-based understanding of mechanism of partial agonist action
- Freeman lab provides new insights into nervous system injury responses
- Wright Lab discovers new amacrine cell interneuron
- Jennifer Jahncke awarded NINDS NRSA-F31 fellowship
- Arpiar (Arpy) Saunders joins Vollum Institute
Research highlights
Myristoylation alone is sufficient for PKA catalytic subunits to associate with the plasma membrane to regulate neuronal functions
Xiong W-H, Qin M, Zhong H
PNAS 2021 Apr 13;118(15) e2021658118 [Online ahead of print]
Incomplete removal of extracellular glutamate controls synaptic transmission and integration at a cerebellar synapse
Balmer TS, Borges-Merjane C, Trussell LO
eLife Feb 22;10:e63819
Mechanism of gating and partial agonist action in the glycine receptor
Jie Yu*, Hongtao Zhu*, Remigijus Lape, Timo Greiner, Juan Du, Wei Lü, Lucia Sivilotti, Eric Gouaux
Cell 2021 Feb 18;184(4):957-968.e21 *Contributed equally
Optical control of cannabinoid receptor 2-mediated Ca2+ release enabled by synthesis of photoswitchable probes
Sarott RC, Viray AEG, Pfaff P, Sadybekov A, Rajic G, Katritch V, Carreira EM*, Frank JA*
Journal of the American Chemical Society 2021 Jan 20;143(2):736-743 *Co-senior authorship
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.
Alejandra Fernandez featured on NINDS Building Up the Nerve podcast
Congratulations to the Neuroscience Graduate Program researchers — Ali Pincus, Prashant Rao and Petra Richer — who received 2020 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”
Alec Condon, Williams Lab
NIDA F31 Predoctoral Fellowship: "Desensitization and recovery of D2 autoreceptors"
Makayla Freitas, Gouaux Lab
NINDS F31 Predoctoral Fellowship: "The molecular architecture and mechanism of the Proton Activated Chloride (PAC)"
Alexandra Houser, Baconguis Lab
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship
Jennifer Jahncke, Wright Lab
NINDS F31 Predoctoral Fellowship: "Dystroglycan regulates cerebellar synapse function"
Katy Lehmann, Freeman Lab
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship
Dan Miller, Wright Lab
NINDS F31 Predoctoral Fellowship: "Mechanism of dystroglycan function at inhibitory synapses"
Janelle Tobias, Frank Lab
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship
Christina Chatzi, Ph.D., Westbrook Lab
Collins Medical Trust: "The benefits of exercise on the aging brain"
Sarah Clark, Ph.D., Gouaux Lab
NIDCD F32 Fellowship: "Elucidating the architecture and composition of the hair cell mechanotransduction complex"
Alejandra Fernandez, Ph.D., Wright Lab
NINDS K01 Postdoctoral Career Development Award: "The role of Pten on primary sensory neuron development"
Taylor Jay, Ph.D., Freeman Lab
NINDS F32 Fellowship: "Glial regulation of neuronal physiology in response to local injury"
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"
Jiaxing Li, Ph.D., Monk Lab
National MS Society Postdoctoral Fellowship: “Investigating synapse assembly and disassembly in oligodendrocyte precursor cells”
Ernesto Manzo, Ph.D., Freeman Lab
NINDS F32 Fellowship: "Defining genetic pathways that drive axon loss"
Rory Morgan, Ph.D., Monk Lab
Collins Medical Trust: "Defining the roles of adhesion G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs) in myelin formation and homeostasis using reverse genetic and chemical screens in zebrafish"
John Sinnamon, Ph.D., Mandel Lab
Rett Syndrome Research Trust Award: "Using site-directed RNA editing to repair Rett Syndrome mutations in vivo"