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| Ronald D.G. McKay, Ph.D., Senior Investigator |
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Dr. McKay received a B.Sc. in 1971 and a Ph.D. in 1974 from University of Edinburgh, where he studied under the tutelage of Edwin Southern examining DNA organization and chromosome structure. He received postdoctoral training at University of Oxford working with Walter Bodner examining restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLPs). In 1978 he became a senior staff investigator at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory concentrating on two areas: the interaction of SV40 T-antigen with the specific binding site at the viral origin of replication and the molecular organization of the nervous system. Joining the MIT faculty in 1984, Dr. McKay continued to examine different aspects of neuronal organization in the nervous system. In 1993 he came to NINDS as chief of the Laboratory of Molecular biology. His laboratory is studying stem cell differentiation.
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Staff:
- Loraine Andrade, Ph.D., Visiting Professor, (301) 496-6574 andradel@ninds.nih.gov
- Andreas Androutsellis-Theotokis, Ph.D., Research Fellow, (301) 496-3412 androuta@ninds.nih.gov
- Justin Boyd, Ph.D., Contractor, (301) 496-6300 boydju@mail.nih.gov
- Wendy Chang, HHMI Scholar, (301) 496-7563 w.w.chang@duke.edu
- Josh Chenoweth, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 496-6422 chenowej@mail.nih.gov
- Daniel Hoeppner, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 496-2338 hoeppner@ninds.nih.gov
- James Kehler, D.V.M., Ph.D., Special Volunteer, (301) 496-6574 kehlerj@ninds.nih.gov
- Raja Kittappa, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 496-7563 kittapr@ninds.nih.gov
- Olga Kozhich, Ph.D., Contractor, (301) 402-7564 kozhicho@ninds.nih.gov
- Andrei Kuzmichev, Ph.D., IRTA, (301) 496-6422 kuzmicha@ninds.nih.gov
- Sachiko Murase, Ph.D., Research Fellow, (301) 594-2682 sachikom@ninds.nih.gov
- Ramesh Potla, Ph.D., IRTA, (301) 435-7655 potlar@ninds.nih.gov
- Rea Ravin, Ph.D., Research Fellow, (301) 451-8857 ravinr@ninds.nih.gov
- Paul Tesar, Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 451-8857 paultesar@ninds.nih.gov
- Ina Wittko, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow, (301) 496-6574 wittkoim@ninds.nih.gov
Research Interests:
The identification of stem cells in the fetal and adult mammalian brain has many scientific and clinical consequences. We have evidence for a common stem cell generating the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS + PNS). This cell can be obtained in large numbers and provides an ideal system to analyze the pathways that control fate choice. We are working on contact dependent and soluble signals that control the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Similar mechanisms regulate differentiation in fetal and adult stem cells. It is important to determine if stem cells give rise to functional neurons. We have shown that stem cells can generate synaptically active neurons.
We have also shown that embryonic stem cells can be manipulated to generate both CNS stem cells and the terminal neuronal/glial fates of the CNS. This opens up an exciting field where we are using the power of genomics and genetics to analyze the development and function of cells in the mouse and human nervous systems.
The clinical potential for stem cell technology is increasingly recognized. In our group we have focussed on clinical models of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and demyelinating disease. Work from our group may also have important consequences in other areas of medicine including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
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Selected Recent Publications:
Rao RC, Boyd J, Padmanabhan R, Chenoweth JG, McKay RD (2008) Efficient Serum-Free Derivation of Oligodendrocyte Precursors from Neural Stem Cell-Enriched Cultures, Stem Cells.
Kittappa R, Chang WW, Awatramani RB, McKay RD (2007) The foxa2 gene controls the birth and spontaneous degeneration of dopamine neurons in old age, PLoS Biol 5(12), e325.
Tesar PJ, Chenoweth JG, Brook FA, Davies TJ, Evans EP, Mack DL, Gardner RL, McKay RD (2007) New cell lines from mouse epiblast share defining features with human embryonic stem cells, Nature 448(7150), 196-9.
Androutsellis-Theotokis A, Leker RR, Soldner F, Hoeppner DJ, Ravin R, Poser SW, Rueger MA, Bae SK, Kittappa R, McKay RD (2006) Notch signalling regulates stem cell numbers in vitro and in vivo, Nature 442(7104), 823-6.
Leker RR, Soldner F, Velasco I, Gavin DK, Androutsellis-Theotokis A, McKay RD (2006) Long-lasting regeneration after ischemia in the cerebral cortex, Stroke 38(1), 153-61.
Murase S, McKay RD (2006) A specific survival response in dopamine neurons at most risk in Parkinson's disease, J Neurosci 26(38), 9750-60.
Tsai RY, McKay RD (2005) A multistep, GTP-driven mechanism controlling the dynamic cycling of nucleostemin, J Cell Biol 168(2), 179-84.
All Selected Publications
Contact Information:
Dr. Ronald D.G. McKay
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, NINDS
Porter Neuroscience Research Center
Building 35, Room 3A-201
35 Convent Drive, MSC 3703
Bethesda, MD 20892-4157
Telephone: (301) 496-6574 (office),
(301) 496-6574 (laboratory),
(301) 402-4738 (fax)
Email: mckay@codon.nih.gov
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