Center for Neurobiology Research
Neuroscientists show how common parasitic infection causes seizures and psychiatric illness for some
Forty million Americans are infected with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. For most patients, the infection is mild, while others develop seizures or psychiatric disorders. A new study led by Michael Fox at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute describes how brain circuits change as the parasite finds long-term shelter inside brain cells. The study’s first author and doctoral candidate, Gabriela Carrillo, explains this discovery.
Scientists discover cellular structure of poorly understood visual brain region
The brain’s ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN) receives signals from the eye, but it is not associated with classical image-forming. For decades little was known about this brain region’s cellular structure and purpose. In a new study published in the Journal of Neurochemistry, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute neuroscientists reveal newly identified brain cell subtypes unique to this region that form a striking layered formation.
About the Center for Neurobiology Research
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists in this center investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying brain development to understand how these cells are altered by genetic variations, neurodegenerative disorders, trauma, and aging. Discoveries made by these laboratories are helping explain the origins of a wide range of brain diseases, while also searching for new approaches to diagnosis and treatment.
Contacts
- Center for Neurobiology Research Director: Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Ph.D.
- Program and Administrative Coordinator: Alexandria Pilot, MPA
- Brain Development
- Infections (Toxoplasma gondii)
- Neurogenetics
- Synaptic Function and Differentiation
- Seizure Disorders
- Stress
- Psychiatric Disease
- Visual System Development
- Calcium Channel Imaging
- Fluorescence Imaging
- Optogenetics
- Single Neuron Patch-clamp Electrophysiology
- Single-cell RNA Sequencing
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Farris Lab , homeThe Farris Lab studies how neurons respond during learning and how those responses differ between genetically distinct cell types thought to be required for storing memories.
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Fox Lab , homeThe Fox Laboratory studies the mechanisms underlying synaptic targeting and synaptic differentiation, focusing on the visual system.
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Friedlander Lab , homeThe Friedlander Lab uses quantitative single neuron patch clamp electrophysiological methods and imaging to see structural changes in the calcium signals that underlie synaptic function.
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LaMantia Lab , homeThe LaMantia Lab studies the genetics underlying neural development to identify new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for a broad range of disorders that compromise brain and organ system development.
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Morozov Lab , homeThe Morozov Lab studies the neuronal circuits associated with empathy and examines how these circuits become altered in pathological conditions related to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, psychopathy, autism, and schizophrenia.
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Mukherjee Lab , homeThe Mukherjee Lab studies the role of MAGUK (Membrane Associated Guanylate Kinase) proteins in neurodevelopment.
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Pan Lab , homeThe Pan Lab aims to elucidate the general principles of vertebrate development and uncover the genetic and developmental causes of human neurological and psychiatric disorders.
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Robel Lab , homeThe Robel Lab's research interest is in the role of astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells, in the development and progression of CNS diseases.
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Shin Lab , homeThe Shin Lab aims to understand the role of brain circuit-specific mechanisms using translationally relevant animal models of stress-induced psychiatric diseases.
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Swanger Lab , homeThe Swanger Lab studies subtypes within a glutamate receptor family, called N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR), located in the brain's thalamus to understand the origins of seizures.
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Article ItemVirginia Tech scientist awarded NIH grant to study CASK-related severe brain disorder , article
Sarika Srivastava, a research assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, is undertaking a five-year study to investigate the mechanisms of CASK loss-of-function mutation associated epileptic encephalopathy, funded by a $2 million grant.
Date: Jun 22, 2021 -
Article ItemTBMH graduate student awarded NIH fellowship to study how the CASK gene regulates brain function , article
Paras Patel, a Virginia Tech translational biology, medicine, and health graduate student working at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant that will fund his remaining predoctoral research exploring how a rare mutation in the CASK gene causes certain brain regions to deteriorate shortly after birth.
Date: Jun 15, 2021 -
Article ItemMedical student’s research offers insight into neural changes caused by parasitic infection , article
Michael Shlossman, a fourth-year student at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, researched Toxoplasma and its effect on alterations in four areas of the brain. His research focused on dopamine, a neurotransmitter made in the body and used to send messages between nerve cells.
Date: Mar 18, 2021 -
Article ItemFaculty academies recognize new inductees for outstanding leadership, service , article
Academies honor the exemplary contributions of faculty members of all classifications in formal service roles or in areas of leadership.
Date: Mar 01, 2021 -
Article ItemEarly career biomedical researcher gets professional boost through NIMH diversity supplement program , article
Niesha Savory, a clinical neuroscience and psychology undergraduate student at Virginia Tech who conducts research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has always been fascinated with how the brain works.
Date: Feb 12, 2021 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute’s 2021 Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series starts Jan. 29 , article
The seminar series, presented virtually due to the ongoing pandemic, is intended primarily for an academic audience but is open to all members of the Virginia Tech community as well as the public. Events in the program, set for Friday at 11 a.m. of most weeks, offer the expertise of a wide range of scientists exploring frontiers in biomedical research.
Date: Jan 28, 2021 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC scientists identify an elusive link between seizures, cell signaling protein , article
A team of Virginia Tech scientists identified a new link between seizures and deficits in connexin 36, a protein essential to the development of electrical synapses connecting neurons. The discovery, published Jan. 11 in Frontiers of Molecular Neuroscience, found that this interaction may make the brain more prone to having seizures.
Date: Jan 11, 2021 -
Article ItemFralin scientists uncover mechanisms that wire the brain’s cerebral cortex , article
A research team led by Michael Fox, a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has identified the type of brain cell that produces collagen 19, a protein that is crucial for the formation of inhibitory circuits in the brain.
Date: Dec 21, 2020 -
Article ItemForbes names graduate student at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC to list of '30 under 30' to watch , article
Ubadah Sabbagh, a fifth-year student in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine and Health program, is included in Forbes Magazine’s 2020 list of 30 young innovators in science with potential to make it big.
Date: Dec 02, 2020 -
Article ItemGraduate student receives highly competitive NIH award to fuse immunology and neuroscience research , article
Gabriela Carrillo, a Virginia Tech translational biology, medicine, and health (TBMH) doctoral candidate, has been awarded a six-year $445,000 National Institutes of Health award that will fund her remaining TBMH predoctoral research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, as well as her postdoctoral research.
Date: Oct 21, 2020 -
Article ItemSwallowing difficulties in children with developmental disorders may be due to misfiring brain cells , article
Problems ingesting, chewing, or swallowing food occur in up to 80 percent of children with developmental disorders and can lead to food aspiration, choking, or life-threatening respiratory infections.
Date: Sep 01, 2020 -
Article ItemScientists identify how a nonfunctioning CASK gene creates chaos in the brain , article
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists have revealed how a nonfunctioning version of an ordinary gene impairs brain structure and function. The findings help explain a genetic form of microcephaly — a condition where babies’ heads are small and grow more slowly than their peers' heads.
Date: Jul 24, 2020 -
Article ItemScientists discover cellular structure of poorly understood visual brain region , article
The brain’s ventral lateral geniculate nucleus receives signals from the eye, but it is not associated with classical image-forming. In a new study, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC neuroscientists reveal newly identified brain cell subtypes unique to this region that form a striking layered formation.
Date: Jun 24, 2020 -
Article ItemAcclaimed neuroscientist to head Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC's Center for Neurobiology Research , article
Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, a developmental neurobiologist and a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has been named the new director of the institute’s Center for Neurobiology Research, according to Michael Friedlander, executive director of the research institute and Virginia Tech vice president for health sciences and technology.
Date: Jun 16, 2020 -
Article ItemMichael A. Fox named new director of Virginia Tech School of Neuroscience , article
Fox, director of the Center for Neurobiology Research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, will move from his current leadership position into a new role as director of the School of Neuroscience, taking over a position held by founding director Harald Sontheimer.
Date: Jun 08, 2020 -
Article ItemNew Fralin Biomedical Research Institute neuroscientist studies long-lasting impacts of stress , article
Sora Shin, a new assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, studies how stress can induce psychiatric disorders. She hopes to develop new targeted therapeutics to help patients with mental illness.
Date: May 13, 2020 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech scientists link rare medical condition to its cause , article
Using CRISPR genome editing in zebrafish, scientists with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC linked an undiagnosed human disease with a rare genetic mutation that causes craniofacial abnormalities.
Date: Apr 30, 2020 -
Article ItemNew study shows how common parasitic infection can cause seizures and psychiatric illness for some , article
Forty million Americans are infected with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. New research by scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC describes how brain circuits change as the parasite finds long-term shelter inside brain cells.
Date: Apr 01, 2020 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical researchers shed light on how to protect optic nerve from genetic harm , article
Virginia Tech scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute have developed a new insight about the most common form of inherited childhood blindness known as optic nerve hypoplasia.
Date: Mar 20, 2020 -
Article ItemDoctoral student named Society for Neuroscience Policy ambassador , article
Ubadah Sabbagh, a doctoral candidate in Virginia Tech’s translational biology, medicine, and health program who conducts research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has been selected as one of 10 members of the Society for Neuroscience to participate in the Society’s annual Capitol Hill Day on Thursday.
Date: Mar 04, 2020 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists shed light on surprising visual development patterns , article
The discovery shows for the first time that retinal cells recruit astrocytes to facilitate growth in visual processing brain regions.
Date: Jan 20, 2020 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech faculty receive top honors from the American Association for the Advancement of Science , article
Elected by their peers and representing a broad range of AAAS “sections,” including statistics, neuroscience, engineering, psychology, and geology/geography, the Virginia Tech professors are among 443 newly elected scholars.
Date: Nov 26, 2019 -
Article ItemZebrafish study reveals developmental mechanisms of eye movement , article
Zebrafish research is a promising way to understand the neural and genetic causes of eye movement problems in people, according to multi-university research led by Albert Pan of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Nov 05, 2019 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute scientist earns grant to examine ‘catastrophic’ seizure disorder , article
Sharon Swanger, an assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has won a $150,000 Dravet Syndrome Foundation research grant.
Date: Jul 22, 2019 -
Article ItemGraduate student earns prestigious NIH award to map unexplored brain region, study optic nerve regeneration , article
Ubadah Sabbagh, a Virginia Tech translational biology, medicine, and health (TBMH) graduate student, has won a National Institutes of Health award that will fund his remaining TBMH predoctoral research and his future postdoctoral research. The award supports outstanding graduate students of underrepresented backgrounds in neuroscience research.
Date: Jul 19, 2019 -
Article ItemGraduate student in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health program receives prestigious Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Ben Barres Fellowship , article
Ubadah Sabbagh, a Virginia Tech translational biology, medicine, and health graduate student working at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, won the award as the most distinguished graduate student.
Date: Jun 28, 2019 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech graduate students selected to join competitive Society for Neuroscience program , article
Amnah Eltahir and Alyssa Brunal-Brown, Virginia Tech graduate students at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, were accepted into the Society for Neuroscience’s fellowship and associate programs, respectively.
Date: Jun 11, 2019 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute neuroscientist awarded NIH grant to study brain cell receptors involved in epilepsy , article
Sharon Swanger, an assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC’s Center for Neurobiology Research, was recently awarded a $1.7 million grant through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study glutamate receptor modulation.
Date: May 30, 2019 -
Article ItemMedical student’s Fralin Biomedical research contributes to visual system understanding , article
Gail Stanton has her sights set on residency in radiology. Her research on the visual system as both an undergraduate and medical student has helped inspire her path to that specialty.
Date: Feb 27, 2019 -
Article ItemVTCRI summer undergraduate neuroscience research federally funded for five more years , article
A summer pilot program for undergraduate neuroscience research at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute proved so successful that National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, of the National Institutes of Health, has provided $500,000 of funding for another five years.
Date: Jan 04, 2018 -
Article ItemGraduate student recognized with professional development award by Society for Neuroscience , article
The award promotes the advancement of career training for neuroscientists and includes registration for the recipient to attend the society’s annual meeting.
Date: Nov 29, 2017 -
Article ItemResearch at VTCRI reveals biological mechanism of a leading cause of childhood blindness , article
The discovery in a rodent model may provide insight into what happens in the visual systems of children born with a condition that prevents the optic nerve from fully developing. The condition is also associated with autism spectrum disorder.
Date: Nov 15, 2017 -
Article ItemEminent scholar in developmental neuroscience joins Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute , article
Albert Pan moved his laboratory this summer to join VTCRI. He also serves as the Commonwealth Center for Innovative Technology Eminent Research Scholar in Developmental Neuroscience.
Date: Oct 17, 2017 -
Article ItemDevelopmental and Translational Neurobiology Center to open at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute , article
Led by Michael Fox, an associate professor at the institute, the center will enhance existing strengths in cell and molecular neuroscience and create a collaborative community for scientists.
Date: Sep 26, 2016 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists find molecular clue in development of schizophrenia , article
Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have found that a small protein fragment significantly contributes to the brain’s healthy wiring.
Date: Jun 02, 2016 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists find brain plasticity assorted into functional networks , article
Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have made a key finding of the striking differences in how the brain’s cells can change through experience.
Date: Feb 10, 2016 -
Article Item'Brainbow' tagging research reveals surprising data about visual connections in brain , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists examine evidence – gathered from visual circuits – that disputes a widely accepted belief about brain development.
Date: Aug 31, 2015 -
Article ItemScientists receive grant to study the leading cause of childhood blindness , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists receive a grant to study the leading cause of childhood blindness: optic nerve hypoplasia.
Date: May 28, 2015 -
Article ItemResearch team heads to Antarctic to get icy insight into how brain adapts to temperature change , article
Scientists are heading to Antarctica to find out, for the first time, exactly how the rising temperatures are affecting the icefishes’ brains and hearts – and what it means for the rest of the world.
Date: May 21, 2015 -
Article ItemMichael Friedlander’s research continues to be lauded 40 years later , article
The early work of the executive director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute helped set the stage for future neuroscience studies.
Date: Feb 27, 2015 -
Article ItemSeeing trees for the forest: Scientists find new aspects to visual system development , article
Seeing is not a direct line; Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists examine the structure of circuits that transmit visual information.
Date: Oct 09, 2014 -
Article ItemNew, surprising roles indicated for critical neurodevelopmental agents , article
Researchers from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute recently got a surprise after performing what they assumed to be a routine experiment in neurodevelopment. It was thought that taking away the receptors for an important glycoprotein called Reelin would hinder a developing brain the same way as taking away Reelin itself. The results, however, revealed major differences, indicating that both Reelin and its receptors have more roles than anyone knew.
Date: Sep 13, 2013
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In Person Seminar: Mechanisms of Progenitor Dynamics and Neuronal Wiring During Cerebral Cortical Development , homeJan. 21, 2022, 11:00 a.m. | Eva Anton, Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series
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Virtual Seminar: Inter-Organelle Communication Pathways and Dynamics Revealed by Imaging , homeFeb. 18, 2022, 11:00 a.m. | Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series
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In Person Seminar: Title To Be Determined , homeApril 15, 2022, 11:00 a.m. | Richard Simerly, Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series