Description:

Please join The Department of Pharmacology, in welcoming Dr. Katharine R. Smith, Ph.D., Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, UK School of Biochemistry.

The following, is an overview of this seminar, as described by Dr. Smith:

"Disruption of synapse structure, function and plasticity are frequently shown to be associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, suggesting that synapses may represent a common substrate for many of these diseases. In support of this, recent genetic association studies have implicated multiple postsynaptic density proteins in neuropsychiatric disease, highlighting the importance of fully understanding the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the context of health and disease. I will present data revealing a synaptic function for bipolar disorder risk factor Ankyrin-G, and thereby provide novel insight into synapse regulation by a key psychiatric risk gene and furthering our understanding of psychiatric disorder pathogenesis."