Montana State University

Kopriva Science Seminar Series: AY 2008-2009 Speakers

Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D. - Monday, April 20, 2009

    
Stuart Lipton, program director and professor at the Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center in La Jolla, CA, spoke on "New Drug Treatments and the Future of Stem Cells for the Aging Brain." Dr. Lipton’s lab developed the first glutamate receptor/channel antagonist drug (Memantine) to be clinically approved for dementia (approved by the European Union in May, 2002 and the FDA in October, 2003). His lab is also studying the cloning of a gene that programs embryonic stem cells to become nerve cells in the brain. Read more...  

Ramon Tusell - Wednesday, March 11, 2009

   
Ramon Tusell is a Ph.D. student in chemistry and biochemistry, and is the recipient of a 2008 Kopriva Graduate Fellowship. He presented a lecture titled "Theory of Tryptophan Fluorescence Brightness and Its Role in Understanding Protein Transformations." Ramon’s research focuses on the use of tryptophan fluorescence intensity to monitor structural changes in proteins. He works to distinguish between different hypothetical detailed mechanisms that have been proposed for protein folding. Read more...

  

Ted Berger, Ph.D. - Friday, December 12, 2008

    
Dr. Berger is a professor of biomedical engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. His research involves the use of experimental and theoretical approaches to develop biologically-constrained mathematical and electronic models of mammalian neural systems.
The majority of his current research is focused on the hippocampus, a neural system essential for learning and memory functions. Read more...