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Zixu Mao, M.D., Ph.D. |
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Associate Professor |
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Emory University School of Medicine |
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505L Whitehead Building |
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615 Michael Street |
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Atlanta, GA 30322-3090 |
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Tel: 404-712-8581 |
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Tel: 404-712-9924 (Lab) |
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Fax: 404-727-3728 |
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zmao@pharm.emory.edu |
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Ph.D., Duke University, 1992 |
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Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School, 1999 |
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Assistant Professor, Brown University School of Medicine, 1999-2005 |
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Associate Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, 2005 |
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Research Interest: |
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We study the mechansims by which neuronal cells control survival vs. death and differentiation vs. proliferation during cellular development and in more mature stages. De-regulation of these processes is believed to underlie the pathogenesis of neurological disorders ranging from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases to brain tumors. We are particularly interested in the roles of nuclear factors in regulating these central processes. In this context, we want to determine how signals specifying these distinct processes are relayed to the nucleus, what the key mediators are involved in the relaying process, what modifications to the nuclear factors are improtant in response, and how these modifications may control subsequent cellular response. As a model, we are currently focusing on the signaling and regulation of two proteins, a nuclear transcriptional factor MEF2 and a cellular kinase Cdk5. We are investigating the fundmantal roles that these factors may play in neurons using a wide range of molecular and cellular biological tools. By dissecting the signal transduction pathways and network that mediate nuclear response controlled via MEF2 and Cdk5, our studies may illustrate basic principles that modulate neuronal survival and death. Illustrating how these control and signaling mechanisms may be altered under pathological conditions will help reveal the pathological processes of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. |
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