Dr. Yoland Smith: Yerkes

	Lily Iskhakova Born and raised in the USSR (now Uzbekistan), moved to the States in 1991. Graduated from Oglethorpe University in 2001 with a B.S. in Biology. That’s when I became part of the Smith Lab team: I worked as a Research Assistant for a year before applying to the Emory University Neuroscience Program. After three rotations I decided to come back to the Smith Lab, because I was royally spoiled by the super-friendly people and great research. Now I am studying the distribution and subcellular localization of the group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in the mouse striatum. Electrophysiologic and pharmacologic evidence suggests that group III mGluRs play important roles in regulating glutamatergic transmission and long term synaptic plasticity in the striatum. Most importantly, recent data have provided strong evidence for the potential antiparkinsonian effects of group III mGluR agonists and allosteric modulators in acute rodent models of parkinsonism. The results obtained from this study will provide a map for the localization of group III mGluRs in the striatum. Better understanding of receptor localization coupled with the newly developed agonists, antagonists and modulators may provide new pharmaco-therapies for Parkinson’s disease and other diseases involving dysfunction of glutamatergic transmission. Group III mGluR are associated with neuropil in the mouse striatum mGluR4 Immunostained Mouse Striatum mGluR7 + VGluT1 Immunostained Mouse Striatum mGluR7 + VGluT2 Immunostained Mouse Striatum Publications & Abstracts: *L. Iskhakova, Y. Smith, Immunohistochemical Analysis of Group III mGluR-positive Elements in the Mouse Striatum. SFN Meeting, 2007* Zhen Qi, Jaime M. Hatcher, Liliya Iskhakova, Eberhard O. Voit, Scott M. Bartell, Gary W. Miller, Prediction of Parkinson’s disease using individual-specific risk factors. Biomed Central Public Health, Submitted *L. Iskhakova, J.F.Pare, Y. Smith, Microcircuitry of Group III Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors (mGluRs) in the striatum.* SFN Meeting, 2006 L. Iskhakova, R. Betarbet, S. Lund, N. Bence, R. Kopito, J.T. Greenamyre, Rotenone Models of Parkinson’s Disease: Proteasomal Activity and Protein Accumulation Following Sustained Rotenone Treatment. SFN Meeting, 2003 L.Iskhakova, M.Paquet, J.F. Pare, Y. Smith, Subcellular Localization of Group II mGluRs in the Monkey Striatum, SFN Meeting, 2002. Professional Memberships Society for Neuroscience International Basal Ganglia Society Emory University Student Health Insurance Commission, 2006-2007 My Family**

Lily Iskhakova

Born and raised in the USSR (now Uzbekistan), moved to the States in 1991. Graduated from Oglethorpe University in 2001 with a B.S. in Biology. That’s when I became part of the Smith Lab team: I worked as a Research Assistant for a year before applying to the Emory University Neuroscience Program. After three rotations I decided to come back to the Smith Lab, because I was royally spoiled by the super-friendly people and great research. Now I am studying the distribution and subcellular localization of the group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in the mouse striatum. Electrophysiologic and pharmacologic evidence suggests that group III mGluRs play important roles in regulating glutamatergic transmission and long term synaptic plasticity in the striatum. Most importantly, recent data have provided strong evidence for the potential antiparkinsonian effects of group III mGluR agonists and allosteric modulators in acute rodent models of parkinsonism.

The results obtained from this study will provide a map for the localization of group III mGluRs in the striatum. Better understanding of receptor localization coupled with the newly developed agonists, antagonists and modulators may provide new pharmaco-therapies for Parkinson’s disease and other diseases involving dysfunction of glutamatergic transmission.

Publications & Abstracts:

L. Iskhakova, Y. Smith, Immunohistochemical Analysis of Group III mGluR-positive Elements in the Mouse Striatum. SFN Meeting, 2007

Zhen Qi, Jaime M. Hatcher, Liliya Iskhakova, Eberhard O. Voit, Scott M. Bartell, Gary W. Miller, Prediction of Parkinson’s disease using individual-specific risk factors. Biomed Central Public Health, Submitted

L. Iskhakova, J.F.Pare, Y. Smith, Microcircuitry of Group III Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors (mGluRs) in the striatum. SFN Meeting, 2006

L. Iskhakova, R. Betarbet, S. Lund, N. Bence, R. Kopito, J.T. Greenamyre, Rotenone Models of Parkinson’s Disease: Proteasomal Activity and Protein Accumulation Following Sustained Rotenone Treatment. SFN Meeting, 2003

L.Iskhakova, M.Paquet, J.F. Pare, Y. Smith, Subcellular Localization of Group II mGluRs in the Monkey Striatum, SFN Meeting, 2002.

Publications & Abstracts:

My Family