Chris Chang
Chris Chang
Mon, Apr. 25, 2016, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Frick Chemistry Laboratory, Taylor Auditorium
Host: Bradley Carrow
Imaging Transition Metal Signaling in the Brain and Beyond
The exploration of the brain and its distinctive role in forming the center of consciousness offers a grand challenge for achieving a molecular-level understanding of its unique functions, including learning and memory, as well as senses like sight, smell, and taste. As such, the brain also represents a frontier for developing new therapeutics for aging, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases. We are developing molecular imaging approaches as a way to identify and study the underlying chemistry that governs brain activity. This talk will present our latest results in the discovery and understanding of transition metals as bonafide signaling elements and their influence on neural circuitry, as well as expansion of this concept of transition metal signaling to other biological systems.