Biography
Glucose transporter modulations in the blood-brain barrier Our laboratory studies brain metabolism and blood-brain barrier function. Recent work has focused on analysis of subcellular mechanisms involved in regulation of blood-brain barrier nutrient transport, correlation of physiological measurements of transport (in experimental animals, in vivo) with subcellular location of the transporter protein. Methods include quantitative electron microscopic analyses of cell and membrane transporters, in vivomeasurement of brain uptake, internal carotid artery perfusion analyses of blood-brain barrier transfer, and measurement of cerebral blood flow rates in vivo. We have also been active in defining the role of the Glut1 glucose transporter isoform in brain tumors. A secondary interest is in transport and metabolism in schistosome parasites, with particular reference to gender-specific specialization.
Biography
Christopher S. Colwell is a Neuroscientist who has served on the UCLA School of Medicine faculty since he joined the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in 1997. He became a Professor in 2008. Dr. Colwell earned his B.S. in Neuroscience from Vanderbilt University in 1985. During this time, he started his research in circadian rhythms under the mentorship of Dr. T. Page. Dr. Colwell earned his Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Virginia in 1991. His thesis work explored the neural mechanisms by which light regulates circadian rhythms. Dr. Colwell continued this line of research during a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia with Dr. G. Block. A second postdoctoral fellowship was carried out on the topics of motor control and excitotoxicity in the laboratory of Dr. M. Levine at UCLA. Dr. Colwell learned how to utilize imaging techniques to measure calcium levels inside neurons while a visiting scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Konnerth at the University of Saarland, Germany. Since Dr. Colwell’s faculty appointment at UCLA, his laboratory’s research has focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms in mammals. Dysfunction in the timing these daily cycles is a key symptom in a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Better understanding the basic biology of this timing system should result in new therapies to improve the quality of life of these patients and the people who care for them.
Biography
Ian A. Cook, M.D. holds the Joanne and George Miller and Family Endowed Chair in Depression Research. He is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine, and a Research Scientist at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Dr. Cook received his bachelors degree with high honors from Princeton University and his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his psychiatry residency training at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, where he also was an NIMH-funded research fellow. Dr. Cook served on the Executive Committee on Practice Guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association, and guided the electronic dissemination of their evidence-based guidelines in psychiatry. A board-certified Psychiatrist, he has also served as an examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. His biography is profiled in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, and Best Doctors. He is the author of numerous publications on brain function in mental illness and in aging, and holds several patents on biomedical devices and methods.