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Selected Courses

• BIOL 112 Cells, Genes and Inheritance
• BIOL 121 Human Biology
• BIOL 242 Topics in Neuroscience
• BIOL 341 Cell Physiology
• BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I - Nervous and endocrine systems
• BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II - Cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and digestive systems
• BIOL 467 Neuropharmacology

Biography

NIH Biographical Sketch

Selected Biography

• Barron SC, McLaughlin JT, See JA, Richards VL, Rosenberg RL (2009) An allosteric modulator of alpha7 nicotinic receptors, N-(5-Chloro-2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-N'-(5-methyl-3-isoxazolyl)-urea (PNU-120596), causes conformational changes in the extracellular ligand binding domain similar to those caused by acetylcholine. Molecular Pharmacology 76: 253-263.
• McLaughlin JT, Barron SC, See JA, Rosenberg RL (2009) Conformational changes in alpha7 acetylcholine receptors underlying allosteric modulation by divalent cations. BMC Pharmacology 9: 1-10.
• McLaughlin JT, Fu J, Rosenberg RL (2007) Agonist-driven conformational changes in the inner beta-sheet of alpha7 nicotinic receptors. Molecular Pharmacology 71: 1312-1318.
• McLaughlin JT, Fu J, Sproul AD, Rosenberg RL (2006) Role of the outer beta-sheet in divalent cation modulation of alpha7 nicotinic receptors. Molecular Pharmacology 70: 16-22.
• Lyford LK, Sproul AD, Eddins D, McLaughlin JT, Rosenberg RL (2003) Agonist-induced conformational changes in the extracellular domain of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Molecular Pharmacology 64: 650-658.
• Lyford LK, Rosenberg RL (1999) Cell-free expression and functional reconstitution of homo-oligomeric alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors into planar lipid bilayers. Journal of Biological Chemistry 274: 25675-25681.
• Koplas PA, Rosenberg RL, Oxford GS. (1997) The role of calcium in the desensitization of capsaicin responses in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. Journal of Neuroscience 17: 3525-3537.
• Desai SA, Rosenberg RL (1997) Pore size of the malaria parasite's nutrient channel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 94: 2045-2049.
• Rosenberg RL, East JE (1992) Cell-free expression of functional Shaker potassium channels. Nature 360: 166-169.

Research Projects

I have two research areas: (1) Molecular mechanisms of activation of nicotinic receptors; and (2) Role of voltage-gated sodium channels in the regeneration of spinal cord neurons.

My research on nicotinic receptors focuses on the conformational changes the receptor undergoes when it transitions from the closed to the open conformation. We use a combination of molecular modeling, site-directed cysteine mutagenesis, receptor expression in Xenopus oocytes, electrophysiological and pharmacological characterizations, and cysteine accessibility measurements to characterize conformational changes induced by agonists, antagonists, and positive allosteric modulators.

My recent research on voltage-gated sodium channels in spinal cord regeneration is a collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Morgan at the Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. We study the changes in expression of voltage-gated sodium channels during spinal cord regeneration in lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), using animal behavioral assays, immunofluorescence microscopy, and transcriptome analysis.

Professional Memberships

• Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience
• Educational Resources in Neuroscience editorial board
• Society for Neuroscience
• American Physiological Society
• Society of General Physiologists
• Marine Biological Laboratory