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Ted Abel, PhD

Professor, Chair and Department Executive Officer of Neuroscience and Pharmacology

Introduction

Research in the Abel lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms of memory storage and the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. We use mouse models to examine the role of molecular signaling pathways as well as transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of gene expression in defining how neural circuits mediate behavior.

Current Positions

  • Chair, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology
  • Director, Iowa Neuroscience Institute
  • Roy J. Carver Chair in Neuroscience
  • Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology
  • Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Professor of Psychiatry
  • Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences
  • Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Education

  • BA in Chemistry, Swarthmore College
  • M Phil in Biochemistry, University of Cambridge
  • PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harvard University
  • Molecular mechanisms of long-term memory storage in Neurobiology, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, HHMI

Graduate Program Affiliations

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

Research Interests

  • Research in the Abel lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms of memory storage and the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. We use mouse models to examine the role of molecular signaling pathways as well as transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of gene expression in defining how neural circuits mediate behavior.

Selected Publications

  • Grissom, N. M., McKee, S. E., Schoch, H., Commons, K., Portfors, C., Nickl-Jockschat, T., Reyes, T. M., Abel, T., Bowman, N., Havekes, R., O'Brien, W. T., Mahrt, E. & Siegel, S. (2018). Male-specific deficits in natural reward learning in a mouse model of neurodevelopmental disorders. Molecular psychiatry 23 (3) 544-555. PMID: 29038598. DOI: 10.1038/mp.2017.184.
  • Koberstein, J. N., Poplawski, S. G., Wimmer, M. E., Porcari, G., Kao, C., Gomes, B., Risso, D., Hakonarson, H., Zhang, N. R., Schultz, R. T., Abel, T. & Peixoto, L. (2018). Learning-dependent chromatin remodeling highlights noncoding regulatory regions linked to autism. Science Signaling 11 (513). DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aan6500. PMCID: PMC6180319.
  • Park, A. J., Havekes, R., Fu, X., Hansen, R., Tudor, J. C., Peixoto, L., Li, Z., Wu, Y., Poplawski, S. G., Baraban, J. M. & Abel, T. (2017). Learning induces the translin/trax RNase complex to express activin receptors for persistent memory. ELIFE 6 e27872. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.27872. PMCID: PMC5606845.
  • Kronberg, G., Bridi, M., Abel, T., Bikson, M. & Parra, L. C. (2017). Direct current stimulation modulates LTP and LTD: activity dependence and dendritic effects. Brain stimulation 10 (1) 51–58.
  • Gunther, A., Luczak, V., Abel, T. & Baumann, A. (2017). Caspase-3 and GFAP as markers for apoptosis and astrogliosis in shRNA-induced hippocampal cytotoxicity. Journal of Experimental Biology 220 1400-1404.
  • Mews, P., Drake, A., Luczak, V., Abel, T. & Berger, S. (2017). Acetyl-CoA metabolism by ACSS2 regulates neuronal histone acetylation and long-term memory. Nature 546 381-386. PMCID: PMC5505514.
  • Li, J., Zhang, W., Yang, H., Howrigan, D. P., Wilkinson, B., Souaiaia, T., Evgrafov, O. V., Genovese, G., Clementel, V. A., Tudor, J. C., Abel, T., Knowles, J. A., Neale, B. M., Wang, K., Sun, F. & Coba, M. P. (In Press). Spatiotemporal profile of postsynaptic interactomes integrates components of complex brain disorders. Nature Neuroscience.
  • Cierna, A. V., Kramar, E. A., Matheos, D. P., Havekes, R., Helmstedt, T. J., Magnan, C. N., Sakata, K., Tran, A., Azzawi, S., Lopez, A., Dang, R., Wang, W., Trieu, B., Tong, J., Barrett, R. M., Post, R. J., Baldi, P., Abel, T., Lynch, G. & Wood, M. A. (2017). Mutation of neuron-specific chromatin remodeling subunit BAF53b: Rescue of plasticity and memory by manipulating actin remodeling. Learning and Memory 24 199-209.
  • Havekes, R. & Abel, T. (2017). The tired hippocampus: the molecular impact of sleep deprivation on hippocampal function. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 44 13-19. PMCID: PMC5511071.
  • Poplawski, S. G., Peixoto, L., Porcari, G. S., Wimmer, M. E., McNally, A. G., Mizuno, K., Giese, K. P., Risso, D., Speed, T. P. & Abel, T. (2016). Contextual fear conditioning induces differential alternative splicing. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 134 (Pt B) 221-235. PMCID: PMC5028328..