Yale/NIDA Neuroproteomics Center

The Yale/NIDA Neuroproteomics Center, which was founded 8/23/2004 (DA018343), brings exceptionally strong Yale programs in proteomics and signal transduction in the brain together with neuroscientists from nine other institutions across the U.S. to identify adaptive changes in protein signaling that occur in response to substances of abuse.

The main goal of the Center, whose theme is “Proteomics of Altered Signaling in Addiction”, is to use cutting edge proteomic technologies to analyze neuronal signal transduction mechanisms and the adaptive changes in these processes that occur in response to drugs of abuse.

Twenty-seven faculty with established records of highly innovative research into the molecular actions of psychoactive addictive drugs, as well as of other basic aspects of neurobiology, are working together in a unique synergy with the Keck Foundation Biotechnology Resource Laboratory to continually strengthen the Yale/NIDA Neuroproteomics Center.

With Co-Directors Drs. Angus Nairn (Psychiatry) and Kenneth Williams (Mol. Biophys. & Biochem.) in the Administration Core, the Center includes Discovery Proteomics (DPC) and Targeted Proteomics (TPC) technology cores. Biophysical technologies from the DPC extend protein profiling analyses into the functional domain while lipid analyses from the DPC very positively leverage proteome level analyses to provide an increasingly biological systems level approach. A Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, which includes high performance computing and the Yale Protein Expression Database (YPED), provides essential support that positively leverages the value of each of the proteomic technology cores.

The Center provides training for faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students and is constantly striving to improve existing and develop new proteomics technologies that can be applied to biological questions related to the actions of drugs of abuse.

The Pilot Research Projects Core is a cornerstone in the Center’s efforts to encourage strong mentoring relationships that will help attract and train future outstanding scientists. A major goal of the Center’s pilot research project grants is to help enable investigators to acquire the preliminary data needed to bring novel and highly promising research ideas relevant to the Center's theme to the point where they can successfully compete for NIH and other grant support.