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Matthew Buczynski 

Assistant Professor, School of Neuroscience, College of Science 

Program Focus

Research Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder driven by molecular changes that occur in the brain in response to habitual drug use, and currently available pharmacotherapies have shown only limited efficacy reducing drug use and relapse in addicts. There exists a critical need to identify novel treatments from a more chemically diverse target pool in order to develop effective therapeutics. Accordingly, Dr. Buczynski’s research objective is to identify the novel molecular changes caused by drug exposure and validate their functional role in neurological disorders. This work integrates advanced mass spectrometry platforms with a wide range of techniques including chemical biology, molecular biology, in vivo microdialysis, and behavioral pharmacology. Ultimately, his research program aims to discover novel therapeutics to facilitate new treatments for addiction.

http://neuroscience.vt.edu/people/core-faculty/mbuczynski.html

 

Selected Publications

  1. Buczynski MW#, Niessen S#, Dix MM, Polis IY, Natividad LA, Sidhpura N, Cravatt BF, Parsons LH. PROTOMAP proteomics reveals that chronic nicotine exposure increases amygdalar PDE10A to facilitate affective behavior. (2016), in preparation.
  2. Serrano A, Buczynski MW, Schlosburg JE, Pavon FJ, Polis IY, Stouffer D, , Zorrilla EP, Cravatt BF, Parsons LH. Deficient endocannabinoid signaling in the central amygdala contributes to alcohol dependence-related anxiety-like behavior and excessive alcohol self-administration. (2016), in preparation.
  3. Irimia C, Buczynski MW, Laredo SA, Avalos N, Parsons LH. Dysregulated signaling in the infralimbic cortex contributes to increased impulsivity during protracted alcohol abstinence. (2016), in submission.
  4. Buczynski MW#, Herman MA#, Hsu KL#, Natividad LA, Irimia C, Polis IY, Pugh H, Chang JW, Niphakis MJ, Cravatt BF, Roberto M, Parsons LH. Chronic nicotine exposure diminishes inhibitory control of VTA DA neurons through enhanced diacylglycerol lipase-mediated signaling. (2016), PNAS 113, 1086-91.
  5. Talantova M, Sanz-Blasco S, Zhang X, Xia P, Akhtar MW, Okamoto S, Dziewczapolski G, Nakamura T, Cao G, Pratt AE, Kang YJ, Tu S, Molokanova E, McKercher SR, Hires SA, Sason H, Stouffer DG, Buczynski MW, Solomon JP, Michael S, Powers ET, Kelly JW, Roberts A, Tong G, Fang-Newmeyer T, Parker J, Holland EA, Zhang D, Nakanishi N, Chen HS, Wolosker H, Wang Y, Parsons LH, Ambasudhan R, Masliah E, Heinemann SF, Piña-Crespo JC, Lipton SA. Aβ induces astrocytic glutamate release, extrasynaptic NMDA receptor activation, and synaptic loss. (2013), PNAS 110, 13961, E2518-27.
  6. Niphakis MJ, Cognetta AB, Chang JW, Buczynski MW, Byrne F, Burston JJ, Chapman V, Cravatt BF. Evaluation of NHS carbamates as a potent and selective class of endocannabinoid hydrolase inhibitors. (2013), ACS Chem Neurosci 4,1322-32.
  7. Gregus AM, Dumlao DS, Wei SC, Norris PC, Catella LC, Meyerstein FG, Buczynski MW, Steinauer JJ, Fitzsimmons BL, Yaksh TL, Dennis EA. Systematic analysis of rat 12/15-lipoxygenase enzymes reveals critical role for spinal eLOX3 hepoxilin synthase activity in inflammatory hyperalgesia. (2013) FASEB 27, 1939-49.
  8. Buczynski MW, Polis IY, Parsons LH. The volitional nature of nicotine exposure differentially alters anandamide and oleoylethanolamide levels in the ventral tegmental area. (2013) Neuropsychopharmacology 38, 574-84.