Jonathan Javitch

Lieber Professor of Experimental Therapeutics (in Psychiatry) and Professor of Pharmacology in the Center for Molecular Recognition, Columbia University

The Javitch laboratory focuses on understanding the structure, function and regulation of G-protein coupled receptors and neurotransmitter transporters. The lab studies the molecular interactions of cocaine and amphetamine with the dopamine transporter, and mechanisms of transport in bacterial homologs of neurotransmitter transporters. Techniques used include cysteine modification and crosslinking approaches, bioluminescence and fluorescence resonance energy transfer, membrane protein biochemistry/liposome reconstitution/binding and flux assays, and in close collaboration with several laboratories X-ray crystallography, and EPR and single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy. The lab also uses transgenic flies as a model system to correlate synaptic physiology of the dopaminergic system with behavior.