In This Section:
Tracking Parkinson's tremors - John Salamone, psychology
Once a mentor, always a mentor - Debra Kendall, molecular & cell biology

Salamone works to uncover cause of degenerative nerve disease

Psychology professor John Salamone’s interest in Parkinson’s disease began during his days as a graduate student when he studied the effects of pharmaceuticals on the brain, with particular emphasis on dopamine, an amino acid that transmits nerve impulses in the brain to affect behavior, mood, attention, learning and motor activity.

John Salamone, professor of psychology, in his office.

Photo by Peter Morenus

Many years later, when his father was diagnosed with a severe case of the disease before succumbing to its complications, he became motivated further to investigate Parkinson’s.

 “I think everybody in neuroscience is aware of some relationship between what they study and a disease or possible treatment,” says Salamone, who was named a 2007 UConn Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“The theme that links much of my work together is this idea of chemical neurotransmission, with a focus on dopamine, and the interaction between dopamine and other neurotransmitters. With Parkinson’s disease, dopamine-producing nerve cells within the brain degenerate and dopamine is depleted.”

During his early research, Salamone made some discoveries related to Parkinsonian tremor. When he arrived at UConn in 1988, he says he had in mind several lines of work, most of them related to dopamine, some involving aspects of motivation and others in motor control and Parkinson’s disease.

Motivation is related to the effort or persistence required to complete any given task. The study of motor control is focused upon aspects of movement, both voluntary, such as walking, and involuntary, such as tremors.

Salamone developed a rodent model of Parkinsonian tremors. In humans, tremors are usually expressed in hand shaking, but in rats they typically appear as jaw movements. In the study, rats were given several antipsychotic medications known to interfere with dopamine.

Because some chemicals reduce the activity of other chemicals, some of these substances — known as antagonists — have been suggested to have anti-Parkinsonian effects.

Salamone decided to examine the ability of the antagonists to reverse jaw tremors. Two such antagonists — KW6002 and MSX-3 — were found to suppress jaw tremors as well as improve a person’s movement. KW6002 is currently being tested in human clinical trials.             

Known worldwide for his dopamine research, Salamone was invited to speak at the Dopamine 50 Years meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, a conference honoring the 50th anniversary of dopamine’s discovery as a neurotransmitter.

Although no one knows the exact cause of Parkinson’s disease, many scientists believe that it may be triggered by an accumulative effect from exposure to environmental toxins, viruses and brain trauma, combined with aging. All of these factors reduce the brain’s ability to produce dopamine.

Salamone says that even as he understands the daily risks everyone has to such exposure, he tries to keep it all in perspective.

“I try to eat a well-balanced diet and avoid a lot of artificial things in my food,” he says. “You can only do so much.”

— Kim Colavito Markesich ’93 (CANR)

Debra Kendall guides students to new opportunities

Debra Kendall, professor of molecular and cell biology, discusses a research project with a graduate student in her laboratory.

Photo by Peter Morenus

It was at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine — a world-renowned genetics research center — where established scientists taught Debra Kendall about research while she was studying biochemistry as an undergraduate student.

It sparked a passion for mentoring students that she has made a priority during a stellar career in research, teaching and outreach.

“There are challenges at every stage of the learning process in science, such as learning new experiment strategies, deciding what is a good question to address in research and determining appropriate places to publish,” says

Kendall, professor of molecular and cell biology and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“The best assessment of the training in my laboratory is what my students go on to do and the accolades they receive. My former students continue to call me with questions about science and about career paths. Mentoring is a long-term process. Once a mentor, always a mentor.”

She instinctively seeks out new and creative ways to recruit women and individuals from different backgrounds to encourage them toward career paths in science and math. As a teacher, Kendall is dedicated to expanding new opportunities for her students.

Recently, she developed a writing-based course in human disease and the development of therapeutic agents.

The course explores how different factors, such as socioeconomics, genetics and behavioral patterns, impact disease and its treatment around the world and illustrate the importance of integrating a variety of scientific disciplines.

“The class gives real-life examples of how multidisciplinary research and understanding can bring about answers to problems. Students also learn the importance of being able to communicate knowledge within the scientific community—and with the public,” she says.

“I want to stress the importance of the integration of scholarship and education in the lab, and both in and outside the classroom,” Kendall says.

She recently finished a term on the editorial board of The Journal of Biological Chemistry and serves as a grant-reviewer for both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Kendall was recognized as a UConn Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, the top award for professors that recognizes scholarship, teaching and service to UConn.

Even as she mentors students and teaches in the classroom, Kendall continues to conduct research. She recently received a five-year grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse to research a subclass of membrane proteins, called receptors, that are vital for a wide array of cellular processes, including the transmission of information across a cell surface.

She is studying the structure and function of receptors in order to determine how drugs interact with them, information that could lead to the development of  more successful treatments for a variety of diseases.

 — Kala Kachmar ’10 (CLAS)