Elissa Pastuzyn - Postdoctoral Associate

Elissa studies the molecular function of the immediate-early gene Arc. She is examining how Arc is able to transfer its own RNA, as well as foreign RNA, intercellularly, and how this RNA is expressed and modulated in recipient cells. She utilizes both cultured neurons and cell lines.

Pastuzyn, E.D., Day, C.D., Kearns, R.B., Kyrke-Smith, M., Taibi, A.V., McCormick, J., Yoder, N.,  Belnap, D.M., Erlendsson, S., Morado, D.R., Briggs, J.A.G., Feschotte, C., and Shepherd, J.D. The neuronal gene Arc encodes a repurposed retrotransposon Gag protein that mediates intercellular RNA transfer. Cell. 2018 Jan 11; 172; 1-2.

Pastuzyn, E.D. and Shepherd, J.D. Activity-dependent Arc expression and homeostatic synaptic plasticity are altered in neurons from a mouse model of Angelman syndrome. Front Mol Neurosci. 2017 Jul 28; 10

Jenks, K.R.*, Kim, T.*, Pastuzyn, E.D.*, Okuno, H., Taibi, A.V., Bito, H., Bear, M.F., and Shepherd, J.D. Arc restores juvenile plasticity in adult mouse visual cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Aug 22; 114; 34.

Kim, G., Nagarajan, N., Pastuzyn, E., Jenks, K., Capecchi, M., Shepherd, J., and Menon, R. Deep-brain imaging via epi-fluorescence computational cannula microscopy. Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 20; 7

Robinson, J.D., Howard, C.D., Pastuzyn, E.D., Byers, D.L., Keefe, K.A., and Garris, P.A. Methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity disrupts pharmacologically evoked dopamine transients in the dorsomedial and dorsolateral striatum. Neurotox Res. 2014 Aug; 26; 2.

Pastuzyn, E.D. and Keefe, K.A. Changes in neural circuitry regulating response-reversal learning and Arc-mediated consolidation of learning in rats with methamphetamine-induced partial monoamine loss. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2014 Mar; 39; 4.

Howard, C.D.*, Pastuzyn, E.D.*, Barker-Haliski, M.L., Garris, P.A., and Keefe, K.A. Phasic-like stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle augments striatal gene expression despite methamphetamine-induced partial dopamine denervation. J Neurochem. 2013 May; 125; 4.

Elissa Pastuzyn’s CV