Blake Nichols

Valerie Cortez

Department: Pharmacology
Year Entered: 2005
Prior Degrees: BS, San Francisco State University, 1999

Research Interests:
I have found that the AKAP5 KO cardiomyocytes are defective in there ability to respond to beta-adrenergic stimulation. Intriguingly both amplitude of the calcium release as well as the time to remove the calcium (Ca2+ decay) was absent in the AKAP5 KO myocyte. This initial finding has lead me to propose the hypothesis that: AKAP150 is required for normal sympathetic stimulation in cardiomyocytes.

The Molecular Medicine program has significantly contributed to my graduate training by broadening my training experience. I am working on earning a Ph. D. in Pharmacology. My research is focused on intercellular second massagers that modulate calcium signaling in muscle cells. The Molecular Medicine program has bridged the gap between the mouse models I study to the human conditions. I have also gotten exposure to a wide range of human diseases I would not have has the opportunity to experience otherwise.

Click here to see a movie file of a pulsed cardiomyocyte measuring the calcium trace at 1 Hz

Publications:
Katrin Schnizler, Leonid P. Shutov, Michael J. Van Kanegan, Michelle A. Merrill, Blake Nichols, G. Stanley McKnight, Stefan Strack, Johannes W. Hell and Yuriy M. Usachev. PKA Anchoring via AKAP150 is Essential for TRPV1 Modulation by Forskolin and Prostaglandin E2 in Mouse Sensory Neurons. Journal of Neuroscience. 2008, May 7; 28: 4904-17

Madeline Nieves-Cintrón, Gregory C. Amberg, C. Blake Nichols, Jeffery D. Molkentin, and Luis F. Santana. Activation of Nfatc3 Down-Regulates the B1 Subunit of Large Conductance, Calcium-Activated K+ Channels In Arterial Smooth Muscle And Contributes To Hypertension. JBC. 2007 Feb 2;282(5):3231-40.

Stratton R, Rajkumar V, Ponticos M, Nichols B, Shiwen X, Black CM, Abraham DJ, Leask A. Prostacyclin derivatives prevent the fibrotic response to TGF-beta by inhibiting the Ras/MEK/ERK pathway. Faseb J. 2002; 14:1949-51.

A Balbir-Gurman, C P Denton, B Nichols, C J Knight, A M Nahir, G Martin, and C M Black. Noninvasive measurement of biomechanical skin properties in systemic sclerosis. Ann Rheum Dis 2002; 61:237-241.

Rodriguez, C., Lu, H., Dinh, T., Mlodnosky, K., Dastgah, A., Lam, V., Nichols, B., Berkman, C. Competitive inhibition of a glutamate carboxypeptidase by phosphonamidothionate derivatives of glutamic acid. Bioorganic & Medical Chemistry Letters 9 (1999) 1415-1418.