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Faculty Detail Faculty Entry   
Name RITA COWELL  
Campus Address SC 729 Zip 0017
Phone 205-975-7466
E-mail rcowell@uab.edu" id="FacultyDetail1EmailAddress"><a href="mailto:rcowell@uab.edu">rcowell@uab.edu</a>
URL http://main.uab.edu/Sites/psychiatry/about/6593/
 
 

Department Affiliations(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Center  Civitan International Research Center  Civitan International Research Center Assistant Professor
Center  Medicine  Comprehensive Diabetes Ctr Assistant Professor
Center  General Clinical Research Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center Assistant Professor
Center  Ctr for Glial Bio in Med  Ctr for Glial Bio in Med Assistant Professor
Center  Neurology   Neuro-Oncology Center Assistant Professor
Primary  Psychiatry   Psych - Behavioral Neurobiology Assistant Professor
Secondary  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology Assistant Professor
Secondary  Neurobiology  Neurobiology Assistant Professor

Biographical Sketch 
1997 B.S. in Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
2002 Ph.D. in Neuroscience, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
2002-6 Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurology, University of Michigan
2006-present Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, UAB

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
American Association for the Advancement of Science      
Endocrine Society     
Society for Neuroscience     
 

Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Transcriptional regulation of interneuron-specific genes in development and neurodegeneration
Description
Fast-spiking interneurons in the cortex and hippocampus exert strong control over the firing of pyramidal cell populations, forming the cellular basis for coordinated movement and learning and memory. Little is known about the transcriptional pathways that support these functions. The Cowell lab has discovered a transcriptional pathway that controls the expression of genes involved in calcium homeostasis, synchronous neurotransmitter release, and neuron structure specifically in fast-spiking interneurons, and the lab is investigating 1) how this pathway is disrupted in animal models of movement disorders (Huntington Disease) and 2) what components make up the transcriptional complexes that induce these genes. The lab uses a variety of technical strategies to address these questions including targeted overexpression and knockdown approaches in cell culture and transgenic animal models, quantitative RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, behavioral testing, electrophysiology, immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, and Western blotting. The lab also uses adenoviral vectors to reconstitute members of this transcriptional pathway as a strategy to rescue behavioral deficits in animal models. It is our hope that these experiments will ultimately reveal novel pathways for the development of pharmaceutical interventions to improve the lives of patients with neurological disorders.

Postdoc Positions Available
Date Posted Position Title
No records
 

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Ma D, Li S, Lucas EK, Cowell RM, Lin JD. (2010) Neuronal inactivation of PPARg Coactivator 1a (PGC-1a) protects mice from diet-induced obesity and leads to degenerative lesions. J. Biol. Chem. 285:39087-95.  20947495 
Lucas EK, Markwardt S, Gupta S, Meador-Woodruff JH, Lin JD, Overstreet-Wadiche L, Cowell RM. (2010) Parvalbumin deficiency and GABAergic dysfunction in mice lacking PGC-1a. J. Neurosci. 30:7227-35.   20505089 
Cowell RM, Talati P, Blake KR, Meador-Woodruff JH, Russell JW. (2009) Identification of novel targets for PGC-1a and histone deacetylase inhibitors in neuroblastoma cells. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 379:578-82.   19118529 
Cowell RM, Blake KR, Inoue T, Russell JW. (2008) Regulation of PGC-1a and PGC-1a-responsive genes with forskolin-induced Schwann cell differentiation. Neurosci. Lett. 439:269-274.  18538475 
Klintsova AY, Cowell RM, Swain RA, Napper RMA, Goodlet CR, Greenough WT. (1998) Therapeutic effects of complex motor training on motor performance deficits induced by neonatal binge-like alcohol exposure in rats. I. Behavioral Results. Brain Res. 800:48-61.  9685583 
Cowell RM, Kantor L, Hewlett K, Frey KA, Gnegy ME. (2000) Dopamine transporter antagonists block phorbol ester-induced striatal dopamine release and dopamine transporter phosphorylation. Eur. J. Pharm. 389:59-65.  10686296 
Galasso JM, Miller MJ, Cowell RM, Harrison JK, Warren JS, Silverstein FS. (2000) Acute excitotoxic injury induces MCP-1 expression and recruitment of CCR2-immunoreactive microglia in neonatal rat brain. Exp. Neurol.165:295-305.  10993690 
Cowell RM, Xu H, Galasso JM, Silverstein FS. (2002) Hypoxic-ischemic injury induces macrophage inflammatory protein-1a expression in immature rat brain. Stroke. 33:795-801.  11872906 
Cowell RM, Silverstein FS. (2003) Developmental changes in the expression of chemokine receptor CCR1 in the rat cerebellum. J. Comp. Neurol. 457:7-23.  12541321 
Cowell RM, Plane JM, Silverstein FS. (2003) Complement activation contributes to hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats. J. Neurosci. 23:9459-68.  14561876 
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Keywords
Transcription, Huntington Disease, movement disorders, GABA, Neuroanatomy, Metabolism, Mitochondria, Neurobiology

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