陈路 神经科学家

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Lu Chen
Neuroscientist | Class of 2005
Probing the complexities of synaptic transmission in the brain, gaining new insights into the processes of learning and memory.

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Title
Neuroscientist
Affiliation
University of California, Berkeley
Location
Berkeley, California
Age
33 at time of award
Area of Focus
Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Published September 1, 2005
ABOUT LU'S WORK
Lu Chen is a neuroscientist who is probing the mysteries of the synapse, the anatomical structure that mediates chemical signals sent from one neuron to another. Specifically, she explores the mechanisms underlying the function of synapses that use the neurotransmitter glutamate (the most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system). This transmitter interacts with postsynaptic neurons with several different types of receptors: kainate, NMDA, and AMPA. Studies of a genetically mutated mouse strain showed that AMPA receptor function is disrupted by the lack of stargazin, a protein homologous with a subunit of the calcium channel. Through a combination of molecular genetic, cell biology, biochemical, and electrophysiologic approaches, Chen and her colleagues were able to demonstrate that stargazin plays a key role in the structural integrity of the AMPA receptor complex. Chen created a line of non-neuronal cells that express each of the AMPA receptor components; in co-culture with hippocampal neurons, she showed that the neurons induced the formation of functional AMPA receptors in the non-neuronal cell line, and that stargazin represents an essential element of the receptor assembly. This observation opens a new avenue for exploring the role of accessory proteins in synaptic formation and plasticity. The potential impact is tremendous not just for understanding the basic biology of learning and memory, but also in the development of new kinds of treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases.


BIOGRAPHY
Lu Chen received a B.S. (1993) from the University of Science and Technology of China, and a Ph.D. (1998) from the University of Southern California. Chen was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California (1998-99) and the University of California San Francisco (1999-2002). Since 2003, she has been an assistant professor of neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley, where she is also a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. Her research has been published in such academic journals as Nature, the Journal of Neuroscience, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.




陈路
神经科学家 | 2005级
探究大脑中突触传输的复杂性，对学习和记忆的过程有了新的认识。

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标题
神经科学家
工作单位
加州大学伯克利分校
工作地点
伯克利，加利福尼亚
年龄
获奖时33岁
重点领域
神经科学和神经生物学
发表于2005年9月1日
关于陈路的工作
陈路是一名神经科学家，她正在探究突触的奥秘，突触是介导从一个神经元发送到另一个神经元的化学信号的解剖结构。具体而言，她探索了使用神经递质谷氨酸（中枢神经系统中最常见的兴奋性神经递质）的突触功能的基本机制。这种递质通过几种不同类型的受体与突触后的神经元相互作用：凯恩酸盐、NMDA和AMPA。对一个基因突变的小鼠品系的研究表明，AMPA受体的功能因缺乏Stargazin而被破坏，Stargazin是一种与钙通道的一个亚单位同源的蛋白质。通过结合分子遗传学、细胞生物学、生物化学和电生理学方法，陈和她的同事能够证明stargazin在AMPA受体复合物的结构完整性中起着关键作用。Chen创建了一个非神经元细胞系，表达AMPA受体的每个组成部分；在与海马神经元共同培养时，她表明神经元诱导非神经元细胞系形成功能性AMPA受体，并且stargazin代表受体组装的一个基本元素。这一观察为探索附属蛋白在突触形成和可塑性中的作用开辟了一条新途径。其潜在的影响是巨大的，不仅对了解学习和记忆的基本生物学，而且对开发新种类的神经和精神疾病的治疗方法也是如此。

个人简历
陈路在中国科技大学获得学士学位（1993年），并在南加州大学获得博士学位（1998年）。陈路曾在南加州大学（1998-99）和加州大学旧金山分校（1999-2002）做博士后研究。自2003年以来，她一直是加州大学伯克利分校的神经生物学助理教授，她也是海伦-威尔斯神经科学研究所的成员。她的研究发表在《自然》、《神经科学杂志》和《美国国家科学院院刊》等学术期刊上。