Martina Blank, PhD
Dr. Martina Blank earned her PhD in Biochemistry at the Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research and the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. Her thesis focused on the role of dystrophin-associated proteins at CNS synapses using the vertebrate retina as a model system. Mutations in dystrophin-associated proteins cause muscular dystrophies, which are often accompanied by cognitive impairment and defects in the visual system.
During her postdoc at the University of California in San Diego, Dr. Blank studied the mechanisms underlying the formation of cholinergic synapses. Her work focused on the role of a new class of cadherin-related neuronal receptors at synapses containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
In November 2003, Dr. Blank joined Prof. Craig Garner as a Staff Scientist at the Center for Down Syndrome Research and Treatment. Pursuing her strong interest in developmental neurobiology, she started a research program aimed at characterizing the development and function of neuronal circuits in a mouse model of Down syndrome (Ts65Dn). Several projects in the Garner lab and in collaboration with colleagues at Stanford and the Salk Institute in San Diego investigate developmental abnormalities in neuronal circuits in the hippocampus and visual system of Ts65Dn mice. The projects use a wide variety of techniques including primary cell culture, neuroanatomy, biochemistry, electrophysiology, and behavioral testing.
Publications:- Schroder, J.E., Tegeler, M.R., Grobhans, U., Porten, E., Blank, M., Lee, J., Esapa, C., Blake, D.J., and Kroger, S (2007). Dystroglycan regulates structure, proliferation and differentiation of neuroepithelial stem cells in the developing vertebrate CNS. Dev. Biol., 307:62-78.
- Fernandez, F., Morishita, W., Zuniga, E., Ngyuen, J., Blank, M., Malenka R.C., and Garner C.C. (2007). Pharmacotherapy for cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Down syndrome. Nat. Neurosci., 10:411-413.
- Hanson, J.E., Blank, M., Valenzuela, R.A., Garner, C.C., and Madison, D.V. (2007). The functional nature of synaptic circuitry is altered in area CA3 of the hippocampus in a mouse model of Down syndrome. J. Physiol., 579:53-67.
- Triana-Baltzer, G.B., and Blank, M. (2006). Cytoplasmic domain of protocadherin-a enhances homophilic interactions and recognizes cytoskeletal elements. J. Neurobiol., 66:393-407.
- Saito, F., Blank, M., Schroder, J., Manya, H., Shimizu, T., Campbell, K.P., Endo, T., Mizutani, M., Kroger, S., and Matsumura, K. (2005). Aberrant glycosylation of a-dystroglycan causes defective binding of laminin in the muscle of chicken muscular dystrophy. FEBS Letters, 579:2359-2363.
- Blank, M., Triana-Baltzer, G.B., Richards C., and Berg, D.K. (2004). Alpha-protocadherins are presynaptic and axonal in nicotinic pathways. Mol. Cell. Neurosci., 26:530-543.
- Blank, M., Blake, D.J., and Kroger, S. (2002). Molecular diversity of the dystrophin-like protein complex in the developing and adult avian retina. Neuroscience, 111:259-273.
- Kaiser, S., Blank, M., and Berg, D.K. (2002). Maturation of postsynaptic nicotinic structures on autonomic neurons requires innervation but not cholinergic transmission. Eur. J. Neurosci., 16:1-10.
- Herrmann, R., Straub, V., Blank, M., Kutzick, C., Franke, N., Neuen Jacob, E., Lenard, H.-G., Kroger, S., and Voit, T. (2000). Dissociation of the dystroglycan complex in calveolin-3-deficient limb girdle muscular dystrophy. Hum. Mol. Gen., 9:2335-2340.
- Blank, M., Koulen, P., Blake, D.J., and Kroger, S. (1999). Dystrophin and beta-dystroglycan in photoreceptor terminals from normal and mdx3Cv mouse retinae. Eur. J. Neurosci., 11:2121-2133.
- Wagner, C., Blank, M., Strohmann, B., and Schuller, H.J. (1999). Overproduction of the opi1 repressor inhibits transcriptional activation of structural genes required for phospholipid biosynthesis in the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast, 15:843-854.
- Koulen, P., Blank, M., and Kroger, S. (1998). Differential distribution of beta-dystroglycan in rabbit and rat retina. J. Neurosci. Res., 51:735-747.
- Blank, M., Koulen, P., and Kroger, S. (1997). Subcellular concentration of b-dystroglycan in photoreceptors and glial cells of the chick retina. J. Comp. Neurol., 389:668-678.