DON M. GASH,
Ph.D.
Dartmouth College (1975)
Postdoctoral training at the University of Southern California
Professor and Chair of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Research Interests: Central Nervous System, Aging, Plasticity and Regeneration
My research focuses
on characterizing the mechanisms underlying regeneration and the recovery of
function in the central nervous system (CNS). I am especially interested in
the
CNS pathways regulating motor functions. Many of my studies have been directed
towards the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system which undergoes degenerative changes
in both Parkinson’s disease and aging. These studies are dedicated to not
only better understanding the cellular and molecular changes underlying CNS
injury and aging, but also investigating new therapeutic approaches to treating
these disorders.
Over the past several years, my research group has increasingly focused on trophic factors mediating functional regeneration in the host brain. We are especially interested in trophic factors regulating growth, maintenance, neuritogenesis and regeneration of CNS dopamine neurons. Most of my studies utilize non-human primate models of normal aging and Parkinson's disease. My group is increasingly utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including functional MRI, to study aging and degenerative processes in the rhesus monkey and human brain.
Recent Representative Publications
Zhang, ZM, AH Andersen,
MJ
Zhang, Z, C Smith, GA
Gerhardt and DM Gash. Motor slowing and parkinsonian signs in aging
rhesus monkeys mirror human aging. . J. Gerontology: Biol. Sci.
55A:B473-B480, 2000.
Grondin, R, Z
Fox,
C, DM Gash, K Smoot and WA Cass. Neuroprotective effects of GDNF
against 6-OHDA in young and aged rats. Brain Res. 896: 56-63,
2001.
Zhang, Z, AH Andersen, R Grondin, T Barber1, R
Andersen AH, Z Zhang, T Barber, WS Rayens, JL Zhang, R Grondin, P Hardy, GA
Gerhardt and DM Gash. Functional
MRI studies in awake rhesus monkeys: methodological and analytical
strategies. J Neurosci Meth 118:141-152, 2002.
Maswood N, R Grondin, Z Zhang, JA Stanford, SP Surgener, DM Gash
and GA Gerhardt. Effects of chronic intraputamenal infusion of glial cell
line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in aged rhesus monkeys.
Neurobiol. Aging 23:881-889, 2002 .
Grondin, R, Z Zhang, A Yi, N
Andersen, A, Z Zhang, MJ Avison and DM Gash. Automated segmentation of
multispectral brain MR images. J Neurosci Meth 122:13-23, 2002.
Grondin R, WA Cass, Z Zhang, JA Stanford, DM Gash and GA Gerhardt.
GDNF Infusion Increases Motor Speed and Stimulus-Evoked Dopamine Release in
Aged Rhesus Monkeys. J Neurosci 23:1974-1980, 2003.
Ai
Y, W Markesbery, Z Zhang, R Grondin, D
Chen
H-L, PM Lein, J-Y Wang, DM Gash, BJ Hoffer and J-H Chiang.
Expression of bone morphogenetic proteins in the brain during normal aging
and in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned animals. Brain Res 994: 81-90,
2003.
Salvatore MF, JL Zhang, DM Large, PE Wilson, CR Gash, TC Thomas, JW Haycock,
G Bing, JA Stanford, DM Gash, and GA Gerhardt. Striatal GDNF
administration increases tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation in the rat
striatum and substantia nigra. J Neurochem. 90:245-54., 2004.
Maswood N, J Young, E Tilmont, Z Zhang, DM Gash, GA Gerhardt, R
Grondin, GS Roth, MA Lane, R Carson, RM Cohen, PM Mouton, C Quiqley,
MP Mattson, and DK Ingram. Calorie restriction increases neurotrophic
factor levels and attenuates neurochemical and behavioral deficits in a
primate model of Parkinson’s disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci
101:18171-18176, 2004.
Smith CD, A Walton, AD Loveland, GH Umberger, RJ Kryscio and DM Gash. Memories that last in old age: motor skill learning and memory preservation. Neurobiol Aging Jun;26(6):883-90, 2005.
e-mail:
dongash@email.uky.edu
Phone: (859)257-5036
Fax: (859)323-5946
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