Seminars & Symposia
Develop New Optogenetic Tools for Precise Control and Interrogation of Neurotransmission
2020-11-05 11:00 ~ 2020-11-05 12:00
Venue: IBC R209
Speaker: Dr. Wan-Chen Lin
Current Position: Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Speaker Website: https://www.ibms.sinica.edu.tw/wan-chen-lin/
Host: Dr. Chun-Hung Lin & Dr. Steven Lin
Abstract:
Neurotransmitters and their receptors are responsible for cell-cell communications in the nervous system. Due to their pivotal roles in signal detection and propagation, neurotransmitter receptors have long been therapeutic targets for neurological, psychiatric, and developmental disorders. However, the diversity in neurotransmitter receptors and the complexity of neural circuitry are both enormous, making the decoding of neurotransmission highly challenging. Breakthroughs await new technologies that enable control over neurotransmission mediators with high spatial, temporal, and biochemical precision in the brain. We integrate chemical, biochemical, and genetic approaches to develop such tools and methods, with a special focus on next-generation optogenetics. Optogenetics is a powerful technique for investigating complex biological phenomena such as cellular signaling and neuronal connectivity. Through the action of a light-sensitive protein, the physiology of a cell or an organism can be optically controlled in defined space and time. We develop strategies to: (1) engineer light-sensitive neurotransmitter receptors for precise manipulation of specific signaling components in the brain; and (2) optically control native neurotransmitter receptors in defined neuronal types or subcellular compartments. We establish our methodologies with type-A γ-aminobutyric acid receptors (GABAA receptors), the master mediators of inhibitory neurotransmission. Ultimately, we aim to enable a comprehensive decoding of GABAergic signaling in the nervous system, and to provide generalizable approaches for optogenetic control of other neurotransmitter pathways.-Dr. Wan-Chen Lin
Contact person: Ms. Nancy Liu
Tel: 02-27855696#2061
Email: liukchun@gate.sinica.edu.tw