METH is a psychostimulant drug of abuse that is easily synthesized and highly abused, especially in the western United States. High-dose administrations of METH can lead to persistent dopaminergic deficits. These deficits are similar in nature to deficits observed in patients with Parkinson's disease, therefore multiple, high-dose administrations of METH have been used as a model of Parkinson's disease.

It is interesting to note that many neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease, are linked to oligomerization of various proteins. Such disorders include Huntington's disease, ALS, and Alzheimer's disease. Our lab has found that multiple, high-dose administrations of METH lead to DAT oligomer formation. My research addresses the components underlying this oligomer formation.

I am currently a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Utah studying this area. My general interests include protein biochemistry, proteomics, and mass spectrometry as a tool to look at alterations to the rat striatal proteome following drug treatment. This area of research is still in the interest phase for me; however I am beginning to address some of the issues involved in this area. If you are interested in my professional career, you can look at my CV.

For my future career plans, I am very interested in both teaching and doing proteomics research. Teaching is a major interest in my life and I hope to be able to teach either biology, biochemistry, or pharmacology courses. My interest in teaching was recognized by the department as I was awarded the Wolf Prize for excellence in teaching.

I am also interested in how drugs alter an expressed proteome. The proteome is a dynamic entity in that it is not like the genome which is fairly static. In addition, given that proteins can change over time, or with drug treatment, I think it is very important and informative to understand how protein expression can change, both quantitatively and via post-translational modifications.