Gregg Homanics

Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh, United States of America

Gregg E. Homanics, Ph.D a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, Graduate Training faculty of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, and Molecular Pharmacology He carried out his Postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, specifying in Molecular Genetics. Appointments: Currently at the University of Pittsburgh school of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Associate Professor. Memberships: American association for the Advancement of Science. Society for Neuroscience. Research Society on Alcoholism. Pittsburgh Neuroscience Society. Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Awards: Distinguished Mentor Award, University of Pittsburgh, 1999. Professor Homanics is a reviewer for a number of Journals and publications written to date include; 90 articles, 16 reviews/chapters, and 125 abstracts

Area of Interest: Application of transgenic technologies to investigate the molecular targets of ethanol and general anesthetics. Production of animal models of human disease. Research: Dr. Homanics’ research interests are focused on the mechanism(s) of action of alcohol and anesthetics. His lab is attempting to gain mechanistic insight into the processes of alcohol intoxication and general anesthesia, genetically altered mice are being created and analyzed. Specifically, experiments are in progress to genetically dissect the GABA neurotransmitter pathway. GABA receptor knockout, knockin, and overexpressing mice are also helping to elucidate mechanisms of epilepsy, learning and memory, behavior, drug action, and developmental abnormalities as well as serving as models of human genetic disorders, e.g., Angelman Syndrome. Education * B.S. (Animal and Veterinary Science), West Virginia University, 1984 * M.S. (Animal Science), University of Kentucky, 1987 * Ph.D. (Animal Science), North Carolina State University, 1991 * Postdoctoral Fellow, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1991-93 Selected Publications * Sonner JM, Werner DF, Elsen FP, Xing Y, Liao M, Harris RA, Harrison NL, Fanselow MS, Eger EI, Homanics GE (2007) Effect of isoflurane and other potent inhaled anesthetics on minimum alveolar concentration, learning, and the righting reflex in mice engineered to express α1 γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors unresponsive to isoflurane. Anesthesiology 106:107-113. * Glykys J, Peng Z, Chandra D, Homanics GE, Houser CR, Mody I (2007) A novel naturally occuring GABAA receptor partnership with high sensitivity to ethanol. Nature Neuroscience 10:40-48. * Werner DF, Blednov YA, Borghese CM, Henderson LA, Ariwodola OJ, Silberman Y, Logan E, Berry RB, Matthews DB, Weiner JL, Harrison NL, Harris RA, Homanics GE (2006) Knockin mice harboring ethanol insensitive alpha1-containing GABAA receptors display selective alterations in behavioral responses to ethanol. Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics 319:219-227. * Skvorak K, Vissel B, Homanics GE (2006) Production of conditional point mutant knockin mice. Genesis 44:345-353. * Chandra D, Jia F, Liang J, Peng Z, Suryanarayanan A, Werner DF, Spigelman I, Houser CR, Olsen RW, Harrison NL, Homanics GE (2006) GABAA receptor α4 subunits mediate extrasynaptic inhibition in thalamus and dentate gyrus and the action of gaboxadol. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103:15230-15235.

Any competing interests declared are displayed with individual evaluations.

Faculty Member: Anesthesiology & Pain Management > Anesthetic Mechanisms (since 14 November 2005)

Links

http://www.pharmacology.us/personnelDetail.asp?pid=814&id=145&ptype=2&pnavcat=2

All recent recommendations

• 6.0
  Ketamine, but not phencyclidine, selectively modulates cerebellar GABA(A) receptors containing alpha6 and delta subunits.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics with David Werner
  
• 3.0
  Brain chromatin remodeling: a novel mechanism of alcoholism.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics with David F Werner
  
• 3.0
  Modulation of GABA(A) receptor desensitization uncouples sleep onset and maintenance in Drosophila.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics with David F Werner
  
• 3.0
  Mechanisms of reversible GABAA receptor plasticity after ethanol intoxication.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics
  
• 6.0
  Vagaries of conditional gene targeting.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics
  
• 3.0
  From synapse to behavior: rapid modulation of defined neuronal types with engineered GABAA receptors.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics
  
• 3.0
  Identification of a molecular target mediating the general anesthetic actions of pentobarbital.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics
  
• 3.2
  Endogenous neurosteroids regulate GABAA receptors through two discrete transmembrane sites.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics, Stuart Forman
  
• 6.5
  Alpha5GABAA receptors mediate the amnestic but not sedative-hypnotic effects of the general anesthetic etomidate.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics, Emery Brown, Michael Avidan with Troy Wildes
  
• 3.0
  Chronic intermittent ethanol-induced switch of ethanol actions from extrasynaptic to synaptic hippocampal GABAA receptors.
  Recommended by Gregg Homanics