Katie Collette
e-mail: katie.collette@und.edu
Major: Chemistry
Mentor: Dr. Van Doze
Expected Graduation Date: August 2010
Graduate Interests: Doctoral Program
Organizations and Activities:
• American Physiological Society (APS)
• American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Thereaputics (ASPET)
• Society for Neuroscience
• University Chemistry Club, Vice President
Honors & Awards:
• American Physiological Society (APS) Undergraduate Summer Research Fellow, 2009
• American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF), 2009
• Iota Sigma Pi Members-at-Large (MAL) Educational Re‑entry Award (National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry), 2009
• McNair Scholar (GPA 3.0 or higher), Accepted Fall 2008
• Phi Beta Kappa, Inducted December 2007
• Dean's List (top 15% of college, based on GPA), Fall 2006, Fall 2008, Spring 2009
• National S.M.A.R.T. Grant (GPA 3.0 or higher in major), 2007 - 2008 and 2006 - 2007 Academic Years
• President's Honor Roll (cumulative GPA 3.8 or higher), Fall 2006 - Fall 2007 and Fall 2000 - Fall 2001
Publications:
Z. Xiao, C. Yang, L. Rojanathammanee, K. Collette, J. D. Geiger, J. E. Porter, and S. Lei. Adenosinergic inhibition of neuronal excitability and epilepsy in the entorhinal cortex via down-regulation of protein kinase A pathway and activation of TREK-2 K+ channels. Society for Neuroscience “Neuroscience 2009” conference (poster), Chicago, IL. October 17-21, 2009.
Williams, Mary (2001); Katie Collette, editor (2004). North Dakota HIV Resource Book. North Dakota Department of Health.
Vitae
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Presentations :
Katie Collette (2009), NE, through activation of Alpha 1A-ARs, stimulates the production of new neurons, leading to alleviation of depression and anxiety, Presented at the McNair National Research Conference (oral), November 2009, Delavan, WI
Katie Collette (2009), NE, through activation of Alpha 1A-ARs , stimulates the production of new neurons, leading to alleviation of depression and anxiety, Presented at the Undergraduate Research in the Molecular Sciences (poster),
October 2009, Fargo, ND
Katie Collette (2009), NE, through activation of Alpha 1A-ARs , stimulates the production of new neurons, leading to alleviation of depression and anxiety, Presented at the North Dakota INBRE Annual Symposium for Undergraduate Research (poster), October 2009, Grand Forks, ND
Katie Collette (2009), NE, through activation of Alpha 1A-ARs, stimulates the production of new neurons, leading to alleviation of depression and anxiety (poster), Presented at the Frank Low Research Day (poster), September 17, 2009, Grand Forks, ND
Katie Collette (2009), NE, through activation of Alpha 1A-ARs, stimulates the production of new neurons, leading to alleviation of depression and anxiety, Pre
sented at the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Symposium (poster), August 6, 2009, Grand Forks, ND
Katie Collette (2007), Individual Development Accounts in North Dakota, Presented at the North Dakota Marketplace for Ideas, Opening the Doors of Opportunity Conference (oral), January 2007, Fargo, ND The North Dakota Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Program provides matched savings accounts to low-income families so they can purchase a productive asset: a first home, small business, or education.
Katie Collette (2007), Individual Development Accounts in North Dakota, Presented at the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency Statewide Conference (oral), March 2007, Bismarck, ND (via teleconference)
About me:
As of fall 2009, I am a senior at UND completing my final classes for my major.
I will spend the spring and summer terms completing my minors and taking electives and will graduate in August 2010. My plans are to complete my doctorate in Pharmacology, Physiology, & Therapeutics here at UND.
In my spare time, of which there is little, I like to watch movies with my son, knit, cook, and spend time with friends.
Abstract Title :
NE, through activation of Alpha 1A-ARs, stimulates neurogenesis, alleviating depression and anxiety
Abstract :
Norepinephrine (NE) is a neurotransmitter which works through activation of adr
energic receptors (ARs). NE has been implicated in neural functions as diverse
as neuronal development, emotion, mood, arousal, learning, and memory. A numb er of antidepressants rely on modulation of NE for their actions, either alone or in concert with other neurotransmitters. NE, through activation of Alpha 1A-ARs, has recently been shown to increase neurogenesis in adult mice. We hypothesize that this may be a mechanism of depression abatement. Due to the unavailability of specific ligands for the Alpha 1A-AR we utilized constitutively active mutants (CAMs) engineered to overexpress this receptor (CAM Alpha 1A-ARs).
For comparison, we used Alpha 1A-AR knock out (KO) mice with normal wild type (WT) mice as controls. We assessed the behavior of the mice for depression using the Tail Suspension Test (TST). We also tested for anxiety behaviors using t
he Marble Burying Test (MBT) and Light Dark Exploration (LDE). We found that CAM Alpha 1A-ARs mice show reduced anxiety and depression when compared to wild type mice, while Alpha 1A-ARs knock-out (KO) mice did not show significantly different levels of either trait. Future work will determine what types of cells are being created and what their localization, morphology, and physiologic functions are.
McNair has been such a great experience! The monthly meetings have great speakers who provide us with the resources we need to succeed. My research is exciting and has proven to me that I definitely want to pursue a career as a research scientist. The support by the McNair staff and my McNair peers has been invaluable.
