Biography
Professor Harris directs NEIL lab with over 25 years of experience with rodent CNS injury models and in particular using MRI and PET to assess structure and function. He received his B.Sc. in Biology/Neuroscience from University of Portsmouth in 1988, and his Ph.D. in Physiology from King’s College London in 1991. Dr. Harris’s early focus of research addressed the question of optimal timing for intervention after the diagnosis of infantile hydrocephalus. Prior to joining University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Dr. Harris received training in multimodality imaging techniques, including PET, structural MRI, fMRI, DTI, and Glucose/blood-flow autoradiography at Kings college University of London, University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute, the Royal College of Surgeons unit of Biophysics in the Institute of Child Health, and University of Cambridge Department of Neurosurgery. Subsequently, Dr. Harris conducted studies to address forebrain ischemic stroke looking at the potential use of non-invasive biomarkers to determine salvageable areas of brain. The studies were cited amongst primary reported findings on biophysical mechanism of the change in water diffusion after stroke. Dr. Harris currently resides as Professor in Residence of UCLA Department of Neurosurgery where he primarily conducts investigations on Traumatic Brain Injury and is the scientific director of UCLA 7T animal imaging core.
Publications
A selected list of publications:
Hsiao Elaine Y Gastrointestinal issues in autism spectrum disorder Harvard review of psychiatry, 2015; 22(2): 104-11.
Yano Jessica M, Yu Kristie, Donaldson Gregory P, Shastri Gauri G, Ann Phoebe, Ma Liang, Nagler Cathryn R, Ismagilov Rustem F, Mazmanian Sarkis K, Hsiao Elaine Y Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis Cell, 2015; 161(2): 264-76.
Hsiao Elaine Y, McBride Sara W, Hsien Sophia, Sharon Gil, Hyde Embriette R, McCue Tyler, Codelli Julian A, Chow Janet, Reisman Sarah E, Petrosino Joseph F, Patterson Paul H, Mazmanian Sarkis K Microbiota modulate behavioral and physiological abnormalities associated with neurodevelopmental disorders Cell, 2013; 155(7): 1451-63.
Hsiao Elaine Y Immune dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder International review of neurobiology, 2013; 113(7): 269-302.
Garay Paula A, Hsiao Elaine Y, Patterson Paul H, McAllister A K Maternal immune activation causes age- and region-specific changes in brain cytokines in offspring throughout development Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2013; 31(7): 54-68.
Hsiao Elaine Y, Patterson Paul H Placental regulation of maternal-fetal interactions and brain development Developmental neurobiology, 2012; 72(10): 1317-26.
Hsiao Elaine Y, McBride Sara W, Chow Janet, Mazmanian Sarkis K, Patterson Paul H Modeling an autism risk factor in mice leads to permanent immune dysregulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012; 109(31): 12776-81.
Malkova Natalia V, Yu Collin Z, Hsiao Elaine Y, Moore Marlyn J, Patterson Paul H Maternal immune activation yields offspring displaying mouse versions of the three core symptoms of autism Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2012; 26(4): 607-16.
Hsiao Elaine Y, Patterson Paul H Activation of the maternal immune system induces endocrine changes in the placenta via IL-6 Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2011; 25(4): 604-15.
Ito Hiroshi T, Smith Stephen E P, Hsiao Elaine, Patterson Paul H Maternal immune activation alters nonspatial information processing in the hippocampus of the adult offspring Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2010; 24(6): 930-41.
Biography
Felix E. Schweizer was born in Basel, Switzerland and conducted his graduate research in the laboratory of Prof. Max M. Burger under the direction of Dr. Theo Schafer. He received his PhD degree in biochemistry summa cum laude from the University of Basel in 1989. From 1990 to 1994, he was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University in the laboratory of Prof. Richard W. Tsien. From 1994 to 1998, he was postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University in the laboratory of Professor George J. Augustine. Dr. Schweizer joined the Department of Neurobiology in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in 1998 as Assistant Professor and was promoted to Full Professor in 2010. Dr. Schweizer’s research interests concern the molecular mechanisms by which neurons communicate, the regulation of communication by neurons and how alterations in neuronal communication might contribute to neuronal diseases. The Schweizer laboratory uses electrophysiological and optical tools to investigate the dynamic molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of neurotransmitter release. We are particularly interested in the role of protein ubiquitination in regulating neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission. In collaboration with Dr. James Wohlschlegel, we used multiplexed SILAC and identified synaptic proteins that are dynamically regulated. More recently, in collaboration with Dr. David Krantz, we are using pesticides linked to neuro-degenerative disorders as unbiased tools identify novel pathways that might be involved in early signs of degeneration. In addition, we are characterizing transmission at the first synapse of the vestibular system, i.e. between utricular sensory hair cells and primary afferent neurons. In collaboration with Dr. Larry Hoffman we are finding that changing the gravitational load alters synaptic structures. We are now using serial EM and EM tomography in addition to physiology and cell biology to define in more detail the transfer function between head-movement input and afferent nerve-firing output.