Team Members
Research Team
Principal Investigator
Colleen Niswender, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Warren Director of Molecular Pharmacology, WCNDD
Research Faculty
Shalini Dogra, Ph.D.
Research Instructor of Pharmacology
My research elucidates the molecular mechanisms of neurotransmission to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets for treating psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and mood disorders. I am primarily focused on evaluating brain circuitry-specific changes observed in disease states and then determining the mechanisms whereby metabotropic glutamate receptors regulate various brain circuits using state-of-the-art approaches like slice electrophysiology, optogenetics, fiber photometry and in vivo behavioral pharmacology. My goal is to decipher and validate the utility of compounds targeting these receptors as potential therapies for treating neuropsychiatric disorders.
Alice Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Research Instructor of Pharmacology
My current research is focused on the metabotropic glutamate receptor and cannabinoid receptor allosteric modulator drug discovery programs. I work closely with others in the molecular pharmacology and chemistry groups to develop positive and negative modulators of mGlu and CB receptors for use as therapeutic agents for disease states such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. My mGlu work is centered on the group III mGlu receptors, including mGlu7 and mGlu8. mGlu7 is widely distributed in the CNS where mutations or deletions of the receptor result in symptoms of neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett syndrome. Preclinical studies have suggested that modulators of mGlu8 may be beneficial in the treatment of various CNS disorders. We are currently developing new allosteric ligands that interact with and modulate group III mGlu receptors to better understand the involvement and therapeutic possibilities of these receptors. I am also involved in the development of CB2 PAMs as a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of schizophrenia and other CNS disorders. Our research provides insight into the complicated CB receptor pharmacology impacting new treatment strategies for brain disorders.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Graduate Students
Tony Ferranti
Pharmacology Graduate Student
My project is focused on investigating the therapeutic potential of targeting metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor heterodimers, specifically the mGlu7/8 heterodimer. While drug discovery efforts for mGlu receptors have traditionally focused on homodimers, emerging evidence suggests that mGlu heterodimers exhibit unique pharmacology and circuit-specific expression patterns in the brain to regulate neural plasticity. In particular, the mGlu7/8 heterodimer regulates long term potentiation on the hippocampus, which may underlie deficits in learning and memory deficits that present in neurodevelopmental disorders associated mGlu7/8 gene abnormalities, such as ADHD and epilepsy. My goal is to not only to demonstrate the precise physiological roles of the mGlu7/8 heterodimer to regulate hippocampal neural plasticity, but also to assess the molecular pharmacology of this target with small molecule allosteric modulators to generate more effective and safe treatment strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Niki Harris
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Current available antipsychotics show efficacy in the treatment of positive symptoms of schizophrenia; however, there remains a substantial need for the treatment of cognitive and negative symptoms. Cognitive deficits are hypothesized to arise from glutamatergic dysfunction, making Group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu4/7/8) have emerged as promising therapeutic targets due to their potential to restore abnormal glutamatergic signaling. In particular, mGlu7 is widely expressed in the central nervous system and has been linked to cognitive impairments in neuropsychiatric disorders through genetic studies implicating loss-of-function variants in the gene encoding mGlu7, GRM7. Therefore, mGlu7 dysfunction may play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. My research tests the hypothesis that potentiating mGlu7 through group III agonists and positive allosteric modulators can restore aberrant glutamatergic signaling and improve cognitive function in NMDA receptor hypofunction in vivo models relevant to schizophrenia. Additionally, I am exploring miRNA-based regulation of mGlu7 expression. MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a) has been shown to reduce mGlu7 levels; thus, I aim to design an oligonucleotide that inhibits miR-34a binding to GRM7, thereby enhancing expression in both in vitro and in vivo systems. Both aspects of my project offer a translational approach to address the unmet need for cognitive treatments in schizophrenia.
Gigi Hunn
Pharmacology Gradudate Student
The goal of my project is to investigate potential treatments for Rett Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with severe cognitive and motor deficits. My focus will be to increase metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 expression in the brain by designing an antisense oligonucleotide that can block the binding of endogenous microRNAs, along with testing the effectiveness of positive allosteric modulators. I hope that these approaches will correct behavioral phenotypes in mouse models of Rett Syndrome.
Research Staff
Undergraduate Students
Lab mascot
Sheeba and Ramsey Ferranti
The grey one’s name is Sheeba and the Brown one is named Ramsey.
I adopted them in 2022 from Petco. They or initial came from a shelter in Kentucky. They are now both 3.5 years old
