Role of presynaptic proteins in exocytosis and neurodegeneration in C. elegans Seminar

Alan Morgan has a long standing interest in the molecular mechanism of neurotransmitter release. He has made particular contributions to understanding the functional basis of the molecules that control vesicle mediated exocytosis.

By establishing tractable assays for function, he has additionally allowed important structure function studies and the identification of phosphorylation events that modulate function. He has a long standing interest in chaperone function in vesicle transport and age related phenomenon. These divergent interests may be converging as cysteine string protein the focus of his talk is modulates synaptic vesicle chaperone function and is a key determinant of neurodegeneration. Alan will describe current studies in his lab aimed at addressing this issue. Whether describing his own results or discussing the preferred interpretation of others he provides a rounded view of current understanding.

This seminar should prove relevant to Undergraduates studying Systems Neuroscience, Molecular Basis of Disease, and Neurodegenerative Disease.