Derek Bowie, McGill University
Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Professor
Montreal, Quebec
derek.bowie@mcgill.ca
Office:
(514) 398-1581
Bio/Research
Dr. Derek Bowie earned his Ph.D. at the University of London in 1992 after completing his undergraduate work at Strathclyde University in Scotland. He then spent the next 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Université Louis Pasteur in France with a short stay at the University of Zurich, Swit...
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Bio/Research
Dr. Derek Bowie earned his Ph.D. at the University of London in 1992 after completing his undergraduate work at Strathclyde University in Scotland. He then spent the next 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Université Louis Pasteur in France with a short stay at the University of Zurich, Switzerland before moving to the National Institutes of Health in the USA for 4 years. In 1998, he took up a faculty position at Emory University in Atlanta before joining McGill University in the fall of 2002. Dr. Bowie is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics as well as being an associate member of the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery. He serves on the editorial boards of the European Journal of Neuroscience and Current Neuropharmacology. Dr. Bowie holds the Canada Research Chair in Receptor Pharmacology which was first awarded in 2002 and renewed in 2007.
The Bowie Lab uses a combination of techniques to study ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) and more recently, GABA-A receptors. Both receptor families are widespread in the vertebrate brain and fulfill many important roles in healthy individuals as well as being implicated in disease states associated with postnatal development (e.g. Autism, Schizophrenia), cerebral insult (e.g. Stroke, Epilepsy) and aging disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinsonism). We are looking at iGluRs and GABA-A receptors at two inter-related levels. In molecular terms, we are examining the events that occur when both receptor families are activated with the aim of developing novel therapeutic compounds. To do this, we measure electrophysiology responses of wildtype and mutant receptors to identify structural elements in the protein structure critical for function. One potential benefit of this work is in the development of novel therapeutically relevant compounds for clinical use. At the cellular level, we are studying the role that iGluRs and GABA-A receptors fulfill in shaping the behaviour of neuronal circuits and how these processes may be corrected in disease states. Here, we are using electrophysiology and histological techniques to study transgenic animals.
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The Bowie Lab uses a combination of techniques to study ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) and more recently, GABA-A receptors. Both receptor families are widespread in the vertebrate brain and fulfill many important roles in healthy individuals as well as being implicated in disease states associated with postnatal development (e.g. Autism, Schizophrenia), cerebral insult (e.g. Stroke, Epilepsy) and aging disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinsonism). We are looking at iGluRs and GABA-A receptors at two inter-related levels. In molecular terms, we are examining the events that occur when both receptor families are activated with the aim of developing novel therapeutic compounds. To do this, we measure electrophysiology responses of wildtype and mutant receptors to identify structural elements in the protein structure critical for function. One potential benefit of this work is in the development of novel therapeutically relevant compounds for clinical use. At the cellular level, we are studying the role that iGluRs and GABA-A receptors fulfill in shaping the behaviour of neuronal circuits and how these processes may be corrected in disease states. Here, we are using electrophysiology and histological techniques to study transgenic animals.
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