S E M I N A R  &  V I S I T I N G  S P E A K E R  S E R I E S

D AT E

Friday, September 21st, 2018

12:00 Noon

LO C AT I O N

Theatre C

Bannatyne Campus

S P E A K E R
Jonathan Geiger, Ph.D.

Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor

UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Department of Basic Biomedical Sciences

T O P I C
An ¡®iron-ic¡¯ story about endolysosomes, inter-organellar signaling and neurodegenerative diseases

O B J E C T I V E S

1. Appreciate that endolysosomes contain readily releasable stores of cations including iron and calcium.

2. Discuss specific examples of inter-organellar signaling.

3. Know that de-acification of endolysosomes profoundly affects endolysosome structure, distribution and function.

4. Appreciate that endolysosome pH and cation release from endolysosomes are early and upstream events central to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases including HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorder and Alzheimer¡¯s disease.

B I O S K E T C H

After two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Manitoba (¡¯82-¡¯84), I accepted a faculty position in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Manitoba where I remained for 19 years (¡®84-¡®03) rising to the rank of Professor and Founding Director (¡®99-¡®03) of the Division of Neurovirology and Neurodegenerative Diseases at the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre. From July 2003 to July 2013 I served as Chair of the UND Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Therapeutics. From July 2003 to present I continue to serve as Principal Investigator on our NIGMS-funded neuroscience center grant. In addition, from July 2010 to July 2013 I served as Interim Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. I have consistently held multiple federal operating grants simultaneously throughout my career, and I received highly prestigious Scholarship and Scientist awards (separate grants that pay an investigator¡¯s salary independent of research operating grants) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. I am currently funded by one P30 NIGMS grant, two five-year R01 NIMH grants, one R21 NIDA grant, and hold the position of Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor. 

The main focus of my research continues to be on brain energy metabolism in general and purines in particular, regulation of levels of intracellular calcium with emphasis on intracellular pools of calcium, the control of neuronal cell life and death in neurodegenerative diseases, and neurological complications associated with HIV-1 infection. Currently, my laboratory has the following research interests: (1) The role of brain energy metabolism (with particular emphasis on adenosine and ATP) in the pathogenesis of epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases and the ability of ketogenic diets to protect against these pathophysiological responses; (2) The role of endolysosome dysfunction in animals models of Alzheimer¡¯s disease and HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorder; (3) The protective actions of caffeine in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders; and (4) The ability of calcium in endolysosomes to influence capacitative influx of calcium and calcium-induced calcium release. I have published over 150 manuscripts and have delivered over 100 invited talks worldwide. I have served on over 120 local, national and international grant review study sections including those for the NIH (I am currently serving a 6-year term as a standing member of the NAED study section) and I have served as Chair or co-Chair on over 20 of these panels.  I am now serving as Chair of the NAED study section for the next 2 years.

I have extensive mentoring experience. Since 2000, as a Director or Department Chair I hired 11 new faculty members. I have graduated seven Ph.D. and four M.S. students from my laboratory and trained 17 postdoctoral fellows, research associates and visiting professors as well as 48 undergraduate students, medical and dental students, and technicians. I have also served on and been President of major advisory boards as well as on many high level committees for UND. I currently serve on advisory boards for two COBRE grants, and I serve on the North Dakota EPSCoR Steering Committee. My publications have been cited over 5,500 times of which about 200 are self-citations. I have published 15 manuscripts that have been cited greater than 80 times and 10 manuscripts have been cited greater than 100 times. My h-index (Scopus) is 45. I am President of the Society of NeuroImmune Pharmacology and serve on the scientific meeting organizing committee for the American Society of Neurochemistry.

Complete Bibliography http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=geiger+JD+NOT+(surgery+OR+pediatric)

Recent publications (selected from 30 publications from the past 5 years):

1. Hui, L., Chen, X., Bhatt, D., Rosenberg, T.A., Haughey, N.J., Masino, S. and J.D. Geiger. (2012) Ketone Bodies Protection Against HIV-1 Tat Neurotoxicity. J. Neurochem. 122: 382-391.
2. Bae, M., Patel, N. Xu, H., Lee, M., Nath, A., Geiger, J.D., Gorospe, M.M., Mattson, M.P., and Haughey, N.J. (2014) Activation of TRPML1 Clears Intraneuronal A¦Â in Pre-Clinical Models of HIV-Infection. J. Neurosci. 34 (34): 11485-11503.
3. Stevens, P.R., Ramonet, D., Gawryluk, J.W., Buscemi, L., and J.D. Geiger. (2015) Mitochondrial Mechanisms Responsible for Creatine Protection against HIV-1 Tat-Induced Neurotoxicity. Current HIV Research 12: 378-387.
4. Hui, L., Geiger, N.H., Bloor-Young, D., Churchill, G.C., Geiger, J.D., and X. Chen (2015) Release of Calcium from Endolysosomes Increases Calcium Influx Through N-Type Calcium Channels: Evidence for Acidic Store-Operated Calcium Entry in Neurons. Cell Calcium 58(6): 617-627.

/sent on behalf of

Tabrez Siddiqui
Chair, Seminar Series
Manitoba Neuroscience Network

E:  Tabrez.siddiqui@umanitoba.ca

Kelly Jorundson
Coordinator, Membership & Operations
Manitoba Neuroscience Network

Email:  kjorund@sbrc.ca
Tel: 204.235.3939 
Fax: 204.237.4092

St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre
Room R4046 - 351 Tach¨¦  Avenue,  Winnipeg, MB  R2H 2A6  CANADA

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