Nadine Kabbani

Dear Jim,

Thank you for inviting me to this blog. I am enthusiastic to be joining the faculty of the Department of Molecular Neuroscience at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study during the Fall semester. I come to Mason after several years of postdoctoral training at the Institute Pasteur in the lab of Dr. Jean Pierre Changeux, eager to establish a research program in the area of proteomic and functional analysis of nicotinic receptors in the brain. The proteome, now recognized as the next major post-genomic domain of molecular organization in cells, is an increasingly exciting place for neuroscience research! My niche of the neuroproteome encompasses molecular interactions of nicotinic receptors expressed in the cortex and striatum of the mammalian brain. Recently we have published findings on the discovery of novel nicotinic receptor interacting proteins from the mouse brain. In my lab at the Krasnow Institute, we will examine the role of these interactions in the function of nicotinic receptors using various cellular and molecular methods as well as mass spectrometry and bioinformatic techniques. We will also define additional proteomic interactions of central nicotinic receptors, and examine proteomic adaptations in key brain regions of nicotine addiction.
I look forward to valuable collaborations with experimental and theoretical scientists and interactions with students and other faculty in the Neuroscience program.

On a less scientific note, I am just beginning to prepare for my move back to the Washington DC area set for next month. A little sad to be leaving Paris, I have booked a return flight for Thanksgiving!

Best wishes for your summer plans and I look forward to seeing you in August.

Sincerely,

Nadine Kabbani