Alana Conti
Laboratory Web Site
Research Interests
Experiments designed to examine ethanol action at the cellular level and to define the signaling pathways that mediate the synaptic response to ethanol in the adult and juvenile brain. Additional studies focus on behavioral outcome following ethanol exposure. Of particular interest are the proteins, adenylyl cyclase 1 and 8, which promote neuronal survival in the neonatal brain following ethanol treatment in studies related to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Future projects will focus on development of a novel in vitro model of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and defining the cellular mechanisms that regulate ethanol sensitivity following traumatic brain injury using both adult and juvenile mouse models.
Disease/Disorder
Traumatic brain injury, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and alcohol sensitivity.
Species
Mice
Methods
Molecular Biology, Immunohistochemistry, Primary Neuronal Cultures, Behavioral Animal Models.
Key Collaborators
Don Kuhn, Scott Bowen, Tiffany mathews, Shane Perrine, John Hannigan