Extra-synaptic GABA A Receptors

Bryan Carter

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Teissere

What is the broader impact of your summer research? That is, why should the world care about your work?

Given that my summer research pertains to extrasynaptic GABA receptors, a lot of the research is fairly new. Knowing that extrasynaptic GABA receptors modulate neuronal excitability, it is likely that compounds working on these extrasynaptic receptors may have implications for the treatment of various illnesses. The little why to be done would be the sub cloning of a4 from pCEP into pGH19. This fits into the bigger project because it allows us to synthesize the extrasynaptic receptor we desire, letting us do further testing.

What has summer research taught you about yourself and the field that you researched and/or studied?

This summer taught me, above all else, that I can be myself and there will be a community that accepts me. Throughout this experience I have also learned that honesty is contagious, and being truly honest with others raises their likelihood of being truly honest with you.This summer taught me a lot pertaining to all areas mentioned. Early on we learned many procedures, how to properly take notes, how to read and understand papers, as well as discovering what direction I wanted to go in. This spirit of learning never halted throughout the summer research experience

What advice would you give to students considering a future research opportunity similar to the one you participated in?

I would advise students to come with an open mind, free of expectations. I would tell them that simply doing it for the resume would be doing themselves a disservice, because they will be surrounded by so many learning opportunities that the mindset of wanting it to be over with will hold them from.