Serena M. Dudek Sommer, Ph.D.
Acting Chief, Neurobiology Laboratory and Senior Investigator

Tel 984-287-3513
[email protected]

NIH Intramural Profile Serena M. Dudek Sommer, Ph.D.

P.O. Box 12233

Mail Drop F2-04

Durham, NC 27709

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Research Summary

Neurobiology is an integral part of environmental health sciences. Disruption of brain development and function produces life-long effects on human cognitive potential. Consequently, both early learning disabilities and aging-related neurodegeneration have become major public health concerns. Although there are many inherited and de novo mutations that result in neurodevelopmental disorders, for example, other learning disorders, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and the three most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's (ALS), all show very low concordance between monozygotic twins, implicating environmental factors in their onset and pathology.

The Neurobiology Laboratory investigates the cellular and molecular processes in the developing and aging nervous system that increase its vulnerability to environmental toxicants. The Laboratory also trains new investigators in the concepts and experimental techniques of neuroscience. Investigators in the Laboratory have expertise in neuronal and glial biology at all levels of mammalian brain organization from genes to behaving animals, particularly as it relates to gene expression, neuronal development, synaptic function and plasticity, ion channel proteins, and the inflammatory response to toxicity.

The schematic represents the range of scientific research taking place in the Neurobiology Laboratory.