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Lynette C. Daws, Ph.D.

Professor

Cellular and Integrative Physiology

Currently seeking Ph.D. students

Research in the Daws lab focuses primarily on biogenic amine transporters, how they are involved in psychiatric disease states, such as depression and addiction, and importantly, how they are modulated by therapeutics, drugs of abuse, and novel drugs to treat these disorders.  The Daws lab is well known for its use of in vivo electrochemical techniques, primarily chronoamperometry, biochemical and behavioral approaches to measure the activity of these transporters in living animals. We study high-affinity, low-capacity (“uptake 1”) transporters, which include serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine transporters (SERT, DAT and NET), as well as low-affinity, high-capacity (“uptake 2”) transporters, including organic cation transporters (OCTs) and plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT).

Current research builds on our seminal findings that organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) is an important contributor to clearance of extracellular serotonin, especially when SERT function is pharmacologically or genetically impaired.  We are currently investigating how SERT and OCT3 regulation of extracellular serotonin influences neuronal responses to serotonin in mood relevant circuits, and the consequences for behavior.  Our findings make OCT3 an attractive target for development of novel therapeutics to treat a host of psychiatric disorders, especially those where current medications (e.g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as Prozac) are suboptimal, or ineffective, in providing symptom relief.

Another major area of research builds on our findings that several drugs of abuse, including amphetamine and mephedrone, produce their effects, in part, via OCT3.  We are currently investigating OCT3 as a putative target for the development of novel therapeutics for treatment of addiction to these, and related drugs of abuse.

Other ongoing research includes investigation of insulin regulation of DAT in eating disorders, studies of regulation of monoamine transporters by auto- and hetero-receptors, and collaborations with medicinal chemists to develop drugs selective for OCT3.

Key Words: Organic Cation Transporters; Plasma Membrane Monoamine Transporter; Serotonin Transporter; Dopamine Transporter; Norepinephrine Transporter, Depression; Stress; Substance Use Disorders; Addiction; Eating Disorders; In Vivo Chronoamperometry; Behavior