Grant Walters, PhD

Photo of Grant WaltersAddress: 2-440 BSB
Phone: (319) 33-3887
Email: grant-walters@uiowa.edu

Mentor: Yuriy Usachev, PhD

PhD Institution: University of Iowa, 2022

Research Description

 Determining the role of mitochondrial calcium transport in neuronal function              

Despite the importance of mitochondrial Ca2+ transport, our understanding of its many functions in neurons and our ability to therapeutically manipulate this process are limited by a lack of information on the molecular composition and organization of mitochondrial Ca2+ transport. The long-term goal of our lab is to fill this knowledge gap and identify molecular components of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and release in neurons, their structural and regulatory features, and their functions in neuronal health and disease. The specific objectives for my research are to establish which molecules mediate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and release in neurons, and to test their roles in Ca2+ signaling and excitotoxicity.

Awards

  • Graduate College Summer Fellowship, 2020
  • Fellowship appointment on the Pharmacological Sciences Training Program (NIH T32 GM067795), University of Iowa, 2017-2019
  • Best Predoctoral Poster Award, CCOM Health Science Research Week, 2018
  • Fellowship appointment on the Neuroscience Training Grant (NIH T32 NS007421), University of Iowa, 2016-2017

Publications

  1. Rysted JE, Lin Z, Walters GC, Rauckhorst AJ, Noterman M, Liu G, Taylor EB, Strack S, Usachev YM. Distinct properties of Ca2+ efflux from brain, heart and liver mitochondria: The effects of Na+, Li+ and the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchange inhibitor CGP37157. Cell Calcium. 2021 Feb 22;96:102382. doi: 10.1016/j.ceca.2021.102382. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33684833
  2. Flippo, K.H., Lin, Z., Dickey, A.S., Zhou, X., Dhanesha, N.A., Walters, G.C., Liu, Y., Merrill, R.A., Meller, R., Simon, R.P., Chauhan, A.K., Usachev, Y.M., and Strack, S.:  Deletion of a neuronal Drp1 activator protects against cerebral ischemia. J Neurosci 40(15):3119-3129, 2020.  PMCID: PMC7141887 
  3. Jensen-Cody, S.O., Flippo, K.H., Claflin, K.E., Yavuz, Y., Sapouckey, S.A., Walters, G.C., Usachev, Y.M., Atasoy, D., Gillum, M.P., Potthoff, M.J.:  FGF21 Signals to Glutamatergic Neurons in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus to Suppress Carbohydrate Intake. Cell Metabolism. 32(2):273-286.e6, 2020.  PMID: 32640184

 

Research