BBB seminar: Niels C. Danbolt

Niels C. Danbolt
Centre for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Research, University of Oslo

Our FUGE project is a systems-biology approach to study transport across brain plasma membranes focusing on neurotransmitter inactivation and water transport. The primary aim is to prepare the ground for a large-scale approach to understand how the hundreds of different transporters and ion channels act together. In this area of research, as in many other areas, the exponential growth of the complexity of research (caused by extensive collaborative networks, new methodology, new types of instruments, combinations of genetic alterations in organisms, legal regulations and intellectual property rights) threatens to overwhelm our ability to manage a huge undertaking. The project will (1) produce new model systems (transgenic lines), (2) deliver new quantitative information on the distribution of some transporters, (3) serve as a testing site for the electronic laboratory management and notebook systems currently being developed by Science Linker AS, and (4) couple the laboratory management system to an online and generally available data system for storage, retrieval, and analyses of related image data and metadata. The project takes both an interdisciplinary approach, by bringing together research teams with different yet complementary areas of expertise (genetics, brain molecular biology and anatomy, mathematics, and computing sciences), and an inter-sectorial approach, by including partners from the Academic sector and a start-up company, to establish a new high-level research platform.

 Host: Clive Bramham <clive.bramham[@]biomed.uib.no>, Dept. of Biomedicine