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Dr. Kathryn Medler

Assistant Professor
Cooke 619
phone: (716) 645-4947
email: kmedler@buffalo.edu
Further research info

Research Summary

My lab studies the physiology of signal transduction pathways and the regulation of these pathways in neuronal systems. We focus on peripheral sensory systems, primarily the taste system. The long term goal of the lab is to understand how signaling mechanisms are regulated within taste cells and how this regulation impacts the generation of the stimulus signal to the brain. We use molecular and physiological techniques, including patch clamp analysis and calcium imaging to investigate how signaling mechanisms function in taste cells.

Selected Publications

• Hacker, K. and Medler, K.F. (2008) Mitochondrial calcium buffering contributes to the maintenance of basal calcium levels in mouse taste cells. J. Neurophys.100(4):2177-91

• Hacker, K., Laskowski, A., Feng, L., Restrepo, D. and Medler, K. (2008) Evidence for two populations of bitter responsive taste cells in mice. J. Neurophysiology, 99(3): 1503-14

• Medler, K.F. (2008) Signaling mechanisms controlling taste cell function. CREGE, 18 (2): 125-137.

• Clapp, T.R., Medler, K.F., Damak, S., Margolskee R.F., and Kinnamon, S.C. (2006) Mouse taste cells with G protein-coupled taste receptors lack voltage-gated calcium channels and SNAP-25. BMC Biology 4(1):7 *highly accessed designation.

• Medler, K., and Kinnamon, S.C. (2004) Transduction channels in Taste Cells. In Transduction Channels in Sensory Cells Eds. Frings and Bradley. pp. 153-177.

• Medler, K., Margolskee, R.F., and Kinnamon, S.C. (2003) Electrophysiological characterization of voltage-gated currents in defined taste cell types of mice. J. Neurosci. 23(7):2608-2617.

• Medler, K. and Gleason, E. (2002) Mitochondrial Ca2+ buffering regulates synaptic transmission between retinal amacrine cells. J. Neurophysiol. 87: 1426-1439.

• Kreimborg, K., Lester, M., Medler, K. and Gleason, E. (2001) Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors are expressed in the chicken retina and by cultured retinal amacrine cells. J. Neurochem. 77: 452-465.