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Page Five NIH Awards More Than $2.2 Million to Dr. Ma for 5-Year Project
Dr. Ma proposes to define the cellular and molecular functions of TRIC as a counter-ion channel in regulating the permeability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane to monovalent cations and/or as a modulator of Ca transport across the SR. “Through comparative studies between wild type control and mutant muscle fibers lacking TRIC, we will define the physiological role of TRIC in mediating both the acute phase of Ca release from the SR and active Ca uptake into the SR,” explains Dr. Ma.
Bacterium Produces Toxin Gene that Causes Programmed Cell Death
Dr. Inouye’s lab looked at Myxococcus xanthus, a bacterium displaying multi-cellular development during which 80 percent of the cells undergo obligatory cell death. By identifying the genes involved, the lab demonstrated programmed cell death in bacteria. The discovery could lead to development of antibiotics for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus and other pathogens with similar toxins, says Dr. Inouye.
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Dr. Jason Richardson Earns $2.3 Million Award: Research Will Focus on Pesticide Exposure as ADHD Risk Factor The National Institute of Environmental Health Science granted an Outstanding New Environmental Scientists Award to Jason Richardson, PhD, assistant professor of environmental and occupational medicine. The five-year, $2.3 million grant will support Dr. Richardson’s research into pesticide exposure as a potential risk factor for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. “The behavioral dysfunction observed in children with ADHD has been linked to disruption of catecholamine systems in the brain, particularly the dopamine system,” says Dr. Richardson. “Thus, environmental toxicants that affect the proper development of the dopamine system may contribute to ADHD.”
JAMAPublishes Dr. Jill Williams’s Commentary on Tobacco Use
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The National Institute on Aging awarded $2,203,656 to Jianjie Ma, PhD, university professor of physiology and biophysics, for a five-year project titled “TRIC, a Novel Modulator of Intracellular Ca Homeostasis.” Dr. Ma hopes that a better understanding of the novel gene trimeric intracellular cation-selective channel (TRIC) will provide valuable insights into the regulation of calcium (Ca) signaling in muscle-related diseases as well as other diseases where dysfunctional Ca regulation results in pathology such as neurodegenerative disorders. 
The laboratory of Masayori Inouye, PhD, professor of biochemistry, has rendered ground- breaking, conclusive proof that a toxin produced within a certain bacterium kills the bacterium’s cells. The findings are outlined in an article titled, “MazF, an mRNA interferase, mediates programmed cell death during multicellular Myxococcus development,” that appears in the January 11 online issue of Cell.
Programs that treat behavioral health problems such as depression or schizophrenia are the only remaining sector of health care that fail to systematically help patients quit smoking,” says Jill Williams, MD, associate professor of psychiatry, in the February 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Williams notes that, in a healthcare environment that increasingly emphasizes wellness and recovery, patients with mental illnesses deserve the same protection from tobacco exposure that benefits the rest of the public. Dr. Williams cites evidence that poor cardiovascular health and death occurs, on average, 25 years earlier in mental health patients than in the general population. Increased access to tobacco dependence treatment will help ensure the patient’s full recovery by providing safe alternatives to nicotine abuse and withdrawal.