Edwin R. Chapman
Position title: Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Email: chapman@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 263-1762
Department:
Neuroscience
Education:
Ph.D. in Pharmacology, University of Washington-Seattle, Seattle, WA, USA
Postdoctoral in Pharmacology & Cell Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Research Description:
Our laboratory comprises three subgroups that address the mechanisms mediating:
A) Ca2+–triggered exocytosis of both synaptic vesicles (SV) and dense core vesicles (DCV) in neurons. The first subgroup studies the nanomechanics of exocytic membrane fusion reactions, with the goal of understanding how proteins catalyze the fusion of lipid bilayers.
B) The biogenesis, trafficking and recycling of SVs and DCVs. The second subgroup studies membrane and protein trafficking in living neurons. The goals of this group are to understand how proteins are sorted to SVs, how SVs are created and locally recycled, and how specific steps in this cycle (e.g., docking) mediate forms of short-term synaptic plasticity. We are also working to identify different classes of DCVs and to understand the rules that govern their release.
C) Presynaptic aspects of synaptic transmission and plasticity. The third subgroup in our lab studies synaptic transmission and plasticity, with an emphasis on how these processes are regulated by Ca2+-binding proteins. We study all modes of SV exocytosis: synchronous, asynchronous, and spontaneous release, and we study myriad aspects of plasticity including paired-pulse facilitation, augmentation, and synaptic depression; in the past, the clostridial neurotoxins (tetanus and botulinum toxins).
All three subgroups closely interact, enabling the lab to work along a continuum that ranges from single molecule approaches to behavior.
Key Words:
Membrane Fusion, Synaptic Vesicle, Fusion Pore, Neuronal Cell Biology, Synaptic Transmission, Synaptic Plasticity
Link to Department of Neuroscience