SUNY Distinguished Professor
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Behavioral pharmacology; Circadian Rhythm/Chronobiology; Drug Design; Drug Targeting; Neuropharmacology; Signal Transduction
Neuropharmacology and Neuroscience Research: My team’s work on neuropharmacology and neuroscience focuses on translational research, specifically on drug discovery and development of ligands for melatonin receptors which are targets for therapeutic interventions. The goal of our research is to understand the biology and pharmacology of the molecule melatonin and its receptors, and to identify ligands to be used as research tools or with therapeutic potential. Molecular based drug design, computer modeling, and medicinal chemistry approaches guides the design and synthesis of small molecules targeting MT1 and/or MT2 melatonin receptors as potential treatments for insomnia, circadian sleep disorders, depression, seasonal affective disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancer (1, 2).
Our laboratory pursues these investigations from a multitude of approaches. We determine the localization of the melatonin receptors, examine their cellular and molecular signaling mechanisms, and investigate receptor fate following prolonged exposure to melatonin. We study the role of melatonin receptors in modulating methamphetamine induce sensitization, reward, and the entrainment of disrupted circadian rhythms. We have also engaged in identifying environmental melatonin circadian disruptors targeting (e.g., carbamate insecticides) the MT1 and/or MT2 melatonin receptors (3). We also study cell proliferation, survival, and neurogenesis in the brain, and the changes in gene expression underlying all these processes. In clinical studies we have demonstrated melatonin effectiveness in advancing circadian phase in subjects with Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome.
Translational Research Experience: I have experience in drug discovery and development research acquired while employed at pharmaceutical companies (Wellcome Labs; Synthelabo now Sanofi-Aventis), in academic settings while collaborating directly with Nelson Research (1985-1989), Glaxo Welcome (1990-1995), Takeda Pharmaceutical North America (2005-2008) and at academic Institutions. Throughout these collaborations and partnerships, I contributed to the discovery and development of melatonin ligands and established screening programs at the companies I collaborated with, and at my home institutions (1,2). At University at Buffalo, I have leadership roles within the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). As Director of the CTSA Translational Workforce Development Core (2015 to 2022) together with my team we developed professional development and grant writing workshops, the Community of Scholars Distinguished Seminar Series. and over 290 workshops grouped in fourteen distinct core competencies in clinical and translational research workshop series. I am currently the PI and Lead for the CTSA-linked KL2 Mentor Career Development Award, and the Director of CTSI K Scholars Program (2020-present) with focus on the recruitment, training and mentoring junior faculty engaged in clinical translation research. Taken together we have developed a focus curriculum for our K Scholars to provide research mentoring, career, and professional development to twenty-two scholars who are successfully navigating their path to independence as reflected by their solid portfolio of academic and research accomplishments. Together, our mentoring programs have developed unique mentoring programs to train the next generation of scientists in clinical and translational science.
Research Mentoring and Educational Leadership. I am an enthusiastic advocate for the training and development of communities of scientists including undergraduates and graduate students to postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty, interested in careers in biomedical, behavioral and STEM science bringing various prospectives to accelerate discovery, and to increase educational outcomes, innovation, and productivity. I have served as direct research mentor in my research team to 49 master’s, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows and over 30 junior faculty. In addition, during my tenure as CLIMB Director at both at Northwestern University and University at Buffalo (2007-2022), our mentoring programs for undergraduates, graduate and postdoctoral fellows/junior faculty impacted the careers of 681 scholars, 445 women in STEM (65% of participants) and 321 Underserved Groups in STEM (47% of participants).
I am currently the PI and Director of the NIH (NIGMS) funded T32-Initiative for Maximizing Students Development (2012-present), PI and Lead of the NIH (NCATS) funded CTSA-linked for the KL2 Mentor Career Development Award (2015-present), Director of the CTSI K Scholars program (2016-present), and Director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) funded by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) (2010-present). In summary, I have been contributing to and developing the next generation of 21st century leaders in STEM, health, and clinical and translational science, by offering comprehensive professional development and educational programs.
Administrative Experience. My administrative experience includes being former Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (2008-2016), Senior Associate Dean of Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement (2012-2022), and Founder and Director of the Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Bioscience (CLIMB) Program at UB (2009-2022). Further, I directed the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) award (R25-NIGMS, NIH) at Northwestern University for two years (2007-2008) and at UB since the R25-NIGMS (NIH) was awarded (2012- 2021) and renewed in 2022 as a T32. I co-directed the UB Institute for Strategic Enhancement of Educational Diversity (iSEED) (2013-2022) that we founded in 2013 to promote and bring together initiatives to build inclusive communities of scholars at UB.
Citations
1. Liu J, Clough SJ, Hutchinson AJ, Adamah-Biassi EB, Popovska-Gorevski M, Dubocovich ML. 2016. MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptors: A therapeutic perspective. Annu. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 56:8.1–8.23. PMC 5091650.
2. Stein RM, Kang HJ, McCorvy JD, Glatfelter GC, Jones AJ, Che T, Slocum S, Huang X-P, Savych O, Moroz YS, Stauch B, Johansson LC, Cherezov V, Kenakin T, Irwin JJ, Shoichet BK, Roth BL, Dubocovich ML. 2020. Virtual discovery of melatonin receptor selective ligands to modulate circadian rhythms. Nature 579:609-633 (published on line 02-10-2020; DOI 1038/s41586-020-2027-0).
3. Glatfelter, G., Jones, A. J., Rajnarayanan, R. V., and Dubocovich, M. L. 2021. Pharmacological Actions of Carbamate Insecticides in Mammalian Melatonin Receptors. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 376:306–321.