Animal Models in ASD
Julyy 23rd, 2020
During this workshop, Dr. Khoutorsky will present different animal models that are currently being used in autism research, as well as the advantages and the disadvantages of using these animal models. He will specifically focus on transgenic mouse models with ablated autism-risk genes, which are involved in mRNA translation regulation, such as 4E-BP2, TSC1/2, and PTEN.
Speaker’s Bio:
Dr. Khoutorsky received his DVM at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He then did his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Micha Spira at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he investigated mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity and this work resulted in the discovery of a hitherto unknown factor essential for short-term synaptic plasticity. In 2009, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Nahum Sonenberg, a renowned leader in the field of translation mechanisms, for his postdoctoral training. In Dr. Sonenberg’s lab, he initiated a project aiming to elucidate the role of translational control in sensitization of the pain pathway. His work led to major advances in our understanding of how mRNA translation contributes to the development of pain. He also discovered new translational control mechanisms involved in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory (Neuron, Khoutorsky et al., 2013), and investigated novel approaches to target aberrant translation in Fragile X Syndrome (Gkogkas, Khoutorsky et al., co-first, Cell Reports, 2013) and autism (Gkogkas, Khoutorsky et al., Nature, 2013). In 2016, he joined the Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain at McGill to pursue his independent research focusing on translational control mechanisms in chronic pain and ASDs.
Keywords:
Animal models, TSC1/2, 4E-BP2, PTEN, and SnyGAP mouse model
Dates
July 23, 2020
4:00pm-5:30pm
Venue
Online Event–link to follow
Registration
Click here
Cost
FREE