GRK 1123:

Cellular Mechanisms of Learning and Memory Consolidation in the Hippocampal Formation

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This Research Training Group is funded by the German Research Council DFG

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©2006, FU Berlin
GRK 1123

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Elena Knoche Address: Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin Charité Campus Mitte Neurowissenschaftliches Forschungszentrum AG Sigrist, 5. Ebene Charitéplatz 1 10117 Berlin Tel.: +49 (0)30-450-539-026 Fax: +49 (0)30-450-576-936 mailto: elena.knoche@charite.de

PhD-Project "Architecture of the presynaptic active zone" Synopsis Glutamate is the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter of our brain. Our group uses glutamatergic synapses of Drosophila neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) as a primary model. This system is similar to glutamatergic CNS synapses of mammals in terms of ultrastructure and molecular composition and offers the advantage of straightforward genetic accessibility and reduced complexity. In my PhD-project I will investigate the architecture of the presynaptic compartment. In the presynaptic compartment neurotransmitter filled synaptic vesicles fuse at active zone membranes, characterized by a specific protein composition. To analyze this specialized composition I will use the two-electrode voltage clamp technique (TEVC) at Drosophila NMJs to study the structure-function relation of major active zone proteins. Supervisor Prof. Dr. Stephan Sigrist MSc Degree (Diploma) “Expression Analyses of Diabetes mellitus Relevant Genes in Insulin-producing Tissue Culture Cell Lines” Institute for Clinical Biochemistry, Medical School of Hannover (MHH) / Prof. Sigurd Lenzen