Research on Manganese Offers Clues to Neurological Disorder

Brittany L. Steimle, a doctoral candidate in biochemistry, received an award for outstanding poster for her presentation on how proteins transport manganese in the brain at the international “Trace Elements in Biology and Medicine” conference, sponsored by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in Tahoe City, California. “Understanding how manganese accumulates into the brain through the blood-brain barrier may serve as a key to designing drug targets for individuals who may have been overexposed to manganese in the environment or in whom manganese metabolism has somehow become dysregulated,” said Steimle, who conducts research in the laboratory of Daniel J. Kosman, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of biochemistry.