I aim to develop an assay system to screen for calcium channel modulators, in a heterologous expression system based on the well characterized CaMKII-NR2B interaction.

Calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a key molecule involved in the process of learning and memory.  A non-catalytic site on CaMKII called T-site mediates interaction with other proteins. Regulation of catalytic activity of CaMKII by T-site mediated interactions is my area of interest.

The multimeric holoenzyme of CaMKII is a key player in the biochemical mechanism for learning and memory. The interaction of CaMKII with the NMDA receptor subunits, especially NR2B plays a key role in Long Term Potentiation. Whether this interaction is a function of the multimeric structure of the enzyme or is it induced at the individual subunit level is one of the questions being addressed in our study.

Eag (ether-a-go-go) is a potassium channel found in neuronal synapses and axon tracts of drosophila. Interaction of CaMKII with eag results in calcium independent activity of the enzyme. We are studying the kinetics of phosphorylation of the binding site sequence on eag by CaMKII.

Bioprospecting for compounds from selected plant species that act on the central nervous system is an area of research in our laboratory. Model systems based on cell culture as well as whole animals will be used for this purpose.

Involved in the screening of plants which can inhibit NMDA receptor mediated excitotoxicity. Proteomic profiling of the Central Nervous System treated with neuroactive plant extracts will be carried out to analyze the differentially expressed proteins.

Bacopa monnieri and Centella asiatica are plants known to have cognition enhancing properties.  I aim to identify proteins in the brain altered by pharmacological intervention with extracts of these plants, by a proteomic approach.

Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of synaptic proteins play an important role in synaptic plasticity. I would like to study the phosphatases which are involved in regulating NMDA receptors and their physiological significance.