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| Norman Salem, Jr., Ph.D., Senior Investigator |
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Dr. Salem received his B.S. degree in Physics from Miami University and his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He did postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Eberhard Trams, NINDS, studying membrane structure and protein-lipid interactions involved in the function of cell surface enzymes. Dr. Salem joined the NIAAA in 1983 where his laboratory studies the metabolism of polyunsaturated lipids, particularly docosahexaenoate, and the role of these lipids in neural development. His research group has a broad interest in Nutritional Neuroscience and uses a multi-disciplinary approach to studying the neural functions of polyunsaturated lipids.
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Staff:
- Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, M.D., Clinical Fellow, (301) 443-2716 jhibbeln@mail.nih.gov
- Taryn Hogan, B.S., Research Assistant thogan@mail.nih.gov
- Dr. Sun-Young Lim, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 443-5147 sylim@mail.nih.gov
- Dr. Yuhong Lin, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 443-9031 yulin@mail.nih.gov
- Mr. James Loewke, B.S., Research Assistant, (301) 443-5881 jloewke@mail.nih.gov
- Ms. Sharon Majchrzak, B.S., Research Assistant, (301) 443-9018 sfm@mail.nih.gov
- Athar Masood, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow masoodaa@mail.nih.gov
- Dr. Alla Polozova, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow apolozva@exchange.nih.gov
Research Interests:
The Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry & Biophysics is rather unique at the NIH as it is the only laboratory that focuses on the functions of polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipids. Of particular interest is the principal polyunsaturate in the nervous system, docosahexaenoic acid, commonly abbreviated as DHA. Alcohol, as well as other nutritional challenges, particularly in early development, may lead to a loss in neural DHA. We have established rat models of DHA loss and shown that this results in a variety of changes in brain structure and function. These changes include a loss of spatial task preformance or memory, slower acquisition of an olfactory discrimination, poorer set learning, changes in the electroretinogram, and smaller neurons in several brain areas.
Human studies are in progress that assess the ability of newborn infants or rats to metabolise n-3 fatty acids such as alpha-linolenate to DHA in vivo. These studies has been made possible by stable isotope technology coupled with sophisticated analytical techniques that employ negative-chemical ionization mass spectrometry.
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Selected Recent Publications:
Niu S-L, Mitchell DC, Lim S-Y, Wen Z-M, Kim H-Y, Salem N Jr. Litman BJ (2004) N-3 fatty acid deficiency results in reduced G protein coupled signaling efficiency in retinal rod outer segments. , J Biol Chem 279, 31098-31104.
Pawlosky RJ Hibbeln JR Lin Y Goodson S Riggs P Sebring N Brown GL Salem N Jr (2003) Effects of beef- and fish-based diets on the kinetics of n-3 fatty acid metabolism in human subjects., Am J Clin Nutr 77, 565-72.
Full Text/Abstract
Catalan J Moriguchi T Slotnick B Murthy M Greiner RS Salem N Jr (2002) Cognitive deficits in docosahexaenoic acid-deficient rats., Behav Neurosci 116, 1022-31.
Full Text/Abstract
Jeffrey BG Mitchell DC Hibbeln JR Gibson RA Chedester AL Salem N Jr (2002) Visual acuity and retinal function in infant monkeys fed long-chain PUFA., Lipids 37, 839-48.
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Weisinger HS Armitage JA Jeffrey BG Mitchell DC Moriguchi T Sinclair AJ Weisinger RS Salem N Jr (2002) Retinal sensitivity loss in third-generation n-3 PUFA-deficient rats., Lipids 37, 759-65.
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Lin Y Salem N Jr (2002) A technique for the in vivo study of multiple stable isotope-labeled essential fatty acids., Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 67, 141-6.
Full Text/Abstract
All Selected Publications
Contact Information:
Dr. Norman Salem, Jr.
Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, NIAAA
Park 5 Building, Room 158
12420 Parklawn Drive MSC 8115
Rockville, 20852-8115
Telephone: (301) 443-2393 (office),
(301) 594-0035 (fax)
Email: nsalem@niaaa.nih.gov
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