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Michelle Sama, Post-doctoral Fellow
As a post doctoral fellow in Dr. Yeh’s lab I am studying the Septohippocampal system during development, aging and in neurodegenerative diseases. My primary focus is on the neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF), which is involved in modulating processes such as muscarinic tone, neuronal integrity and cognitive functioning. My current projects involve behavioral testing in an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) during early, presumed pre-pathology stages of development. The cognitive testing is coupled to other experimental approaches to assess the electrophysiological profiles of neurons in the medial septum/ diagonal band of Broca (MS/DB), and to examine the anatomical characteristics of MS/DB neuronal populations. Lastly I am interested in how NGF modulates muscarinic tone in the MS/DB. I believe that gaining a better understanding of how NGF functions in the MS/DB can guide the design of possible therapeutic interventions for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including AD.