Page 8 - 2016-2017 ARCS Oregon Annual Report

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OHSU John Koberstein ARCS Scholar in in neuroscience at OHSU OHSU “My research is is focused on how certain compounds involved in in in metabolism also regulate other aspects of of of cell function An example of of of such a a a a a a process is the the degeneration of of of neuronal axons after injury the the onset of which appears to be controlled in in in in part by the compound nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) an an an essential metabolic factor found in in all living cells In order to to understand the mechanism by which NAD regulates axonal degeneration precise measurements of the chemical concentration
in in time and space are are required However the methods to make such measurements are are lacking As a a a a a a a a result I am
working on on on creating fluorescent proteins that report the concentration
of NAD in in in in live cells through the emission of light If successful this tool will enable researchers to to better understand how interactions between metabolism and cell signaling contribute to disease ”
John Koberstein -
The Vaux Scholar