Biological Sciences

Faculty Research: Bruce Bamber

Bruce Bamber

 

Associate Professor 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dept. of Biology University of Utah, 1999
Ph.D. University of Washington, 1994
B.Sc. University of Calgary, 1987

Office:          WO 3213
Phone No:   419.530.7889
Email:          bruce.bamber@utoledo.edu

Publications

 

 

Research

My laboratory studies the molecular signaling pathways that control neuronal function and behavior. Our major approaches include optical imaging, electrophysiology, molecular biology and genetics. Our model system of choice is Caenorhabditis elegans, which is a nematode with a very small and relatively simple nervous system (302 neurons, compared to 86 billion neurons in the human brain!). There are two major reasons to study nematode neurobiology. First we can ask questions at very high resolution; in addition to its small size, the C. elegans nervous system has been fully reconstructed by serial section electron microscopy. Importantly,neural mechanisms are highly conserved between C. elegans and humans, both in terms of the molecules involved and the principles of circuit function, so findings from the nematodes translate well to more complex vertebrate brains. Second, many nematode species are parasitic, affecting agricultural crops, livestock, and humans. Drugs that clear nematode infections (anthelmintics and nematicides) are critical to maintaining health and agricultural productivity, but drug resistant nematodes are appearing at an ever accelerating pace, which necessitates the development of new anthelmintic drugs.

Molecular Basis of Behavioral Plasticity: My lab has focused on the signaling molecules that regulate the activity of electrically-excitable cells (i.e the neurons and muscles that control behavior). Following our earlier focus on the GABA receptors expressed in the nematode muscle, our attention has more recently turned to neuromodulatory molecules and their role in behavioral plasticity. In collaboration with Richard Komuniecki (UToledo Biological Sciences), we have focused on aversive locomotory responses in worms exposed to 1-octanol. C. elegans is repelled by 1-octanol, and the lag time between stimulation and aversive locomotory response varies between 5s and 10s, depending on various factors such as nutrition state. Signaling cascades involving monoamines (eg. serotonin, octopamine, dopamine) and and multiple neuropeptides are critical for proper regulation of these locomotory reactions. We are specifically focused on intracellular neuromodulatory signaling pathways and their interaction with calcium signals (see Zahratka et al., 2015).

Development of New Drugs to Combat Parasitic Nematodes: Anthelmintics and nematicides are critical tools in agriculture and public health. Unfortunately, anthelmintic resistance is a serious and growing problem. Developing new anthelmintic drugs is critical, and represents an exciting opportunity for research commercialization. In collaboration with Richard Komuniecki and Paul Erhardt (UToledo Medicinal Chemistry), and following successful NSF I-Corps training in 2016, we are developing 5-HT1 agonists as potential anthelmintics, using targeted chemical synthesis, behavioral and electrophysiological testing in C. elegans, and in vivo testing in parasite-infected animal models.

Last Updated: 9/14/23