BME-IBSC PhD Preliminary Exam Announcement for Karen Reynolds (Dr. Tamara Kinzer-Ursem, Advisor)

Title: Computational Prediction of the Structure and Regulation of the NMDA Receptor Complex

Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 11:00 AM.

Date: December 3, 2025

Time: 11:00 AM

Location: DLR 131 and Zoom

Zoom link: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/93166695223

Committee Members: Dr. Tamara Kinzer-Ursem (Chair); Dr. Elsje Pienaar; Dr. Jianing Li; Dr. Chris Lorenz; Dr. Scott Bolton

Abstract: The NMDA Receptor, AMPA Receptor, CaMKII, PSD-95, and SynGAP proteins are thought to compose the NMDA Receptor Complex located immediately below the membrane of hippocampal synaptic heads. These proteins are implicated in several neurological disorders and integral players in healthy inter-neuronal signaling resulting in learning and memory formation via a calcium signaling cascade. The structure of this NMDA Receptor Complex has never been fully elucidated despite decades of research addressing the individual proteins.  Likewise, the regulation of the complex via post-translational phosphorylation is yet to be investigated. This study will determine whether all five proteins simultaneously incorporate into the complex via prediction of the complex structure with AlphaFold Multimer and verification of the structure through comparison of reported interaction sites in the literature. The regulation of the complex will be elucidated via all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the complex with and without phosphorylated modifications. Characterizing the structure and regulation of this complex will inform the mechanisms of healthy inter-neuronal signaling and provide a basis for future therapeutic development to target diseased mechanisms involving the NMDA Receptor Complex.