Howard Hughes Medical Institute :: MIT :: The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
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Gül Dölen, Ph.D. Brown University MD / PhD Program
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EDUCATION
Brown University, 2001-current. M.D./Ph.D. program.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007. Special student (graduate level),
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Thesis advisor: Dr. Mark F. Bear, Ph. D.
Columbia University, 2001. Premedical Postbaccaulaureate program
Duke University, BA, 1998. Program II - Comparative Perspectives on the Mind
DISSERTATION SUMMARY
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of heritable mental retardation and the leading identified cause of autism. Using the molecular genetic approach in mice, my dissertation has focused on understanding the pathogenesis of FXS. By generating Fmr1 knockout mice with reduced expression of mGluR5, the major Gp1 mGluR in the forebrain, I have been able to examine a number of endophenotypes relevant to the disease, using a variety of experimental techniques, including monocular deprivation-induced plasticity recorded in vivo. My results demonstrate that mGluR5 contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of the disease, a finding that has significant therapeutic implications for fragile X and related developmental disorders.
FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral M.D./Ph.D. Fellows,
NIMH Grant Number: 5F30MH067431 05, 2002-2008
Sigma Xi Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, Brown University Chapter, 2008
Joukowsky Family Foundation Outstanding Dissertation Award, Brown University, 2008
Conquer Fragile X Foundation, Rising Star Award, 2007
Angus MacDonald Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, MIT, 2006
Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Duke University, academic year 1997-1998
Latin Honors (Magna Cum Laude), Duke University, 1998
Graduation with Distinction in Program II, Duke University, 1998
Deans List, academic year 1994-1995, 1995-1996
PHI ETA SIGMA Honor Society, academic year 1994-1995
PUBLICATIONS AND ABSTRACTS
Dölen, G. and Bear, M.F. Role for metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) in the pathogenesis of fragile X syndrome. Journal of Physiology. 2008 Mar 15;586(6):1503-8.
Bear MF, Dölen G, Osterweil E, Nagarajan N. Fragile X: translation in action. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2008 Jan; 33(1):84-7.
Dölen G., Osterweil E., Rao B.S.S., Smith G.B., Auerbach B.D., Chattarji S., Bear M.F. Correction of Fragile X Syndrome in Mice. Neuron, Vol 56, 955-962, 20 December 2007
Dölen, G and Bear, MF. Courting a cure for fragile x. Neuron. 2005 Mar 3;45(5):642-4.
Herrera E, Brown L, Aruga J, Rachel RA, Dölen G, Mikoshiba K, Brown S, Mason CA. Zic2 patterns binocular vision by specifying the uncrossed retinal projection. Cell. 2003 Sep 5;114(5):545-57.
Rachel, R.A., Dölen, G., Hayes, N.L., Lu, A., Erskine, L., Nowakowski, R.S., and Mason, C.A. (2002) Spatiotemporal features of early neurogenesis differ in wild-type and albino mouse retina. J. Neuroscience 2002 Jun 1;22(11):4249-63.
A. Dunaevsky, R. Blazeski, G. Dölen, A Majewska, R. Yuste, C.A. Mason. (1999) Dendritic spine motility on purkinje cells in cerebellar slices. Society for Neuroscience, Abstracts.
G. Dölen and J.A. Kauer. (1998) Long-term potentiation in subiculum. Society for Neuroscience, Abstracts.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
9.05 Neural Basis of Movement, MIT: teaching assistant/lecturer, Spring 2007
MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP): mentor, Summer/Fall 2006
9.01 Introduction to Neuroscience, MIT: teaching assistant, Fall 2004, Fall 2005