Lynda Wilmott, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has received a $52,500 grant to explore proteins in the brain that play a key role in controlling the communication of nerve cells that are important for encoding and storing memories. The grant from the Glenn/AFAR Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Translational Research on Aging will allow her to explore how changes in these proteins affect aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

Wilmott works in the laboratory of Catherine Kaczorowski, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in the College of Medicine at UTHSC. Her research will clarify the role Kcnh3, a protein coding gene, plays in memory function, neuro responsiveness and communication between areas of the brain that are involved in memory. At the onset of memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease, this protein has been shown to be enriched in the hippocampus, which is the structure in the brain that aids in encoding memories. The expectation of the study is that administering an antagonist drug will improve memory function, including neuron responsiveness and communication between brain areas.

“This project seeks to determine the role of Kcnh3 in memory formation and decline, and also test the efficacy of Kcnh3 modulators to prevent or reverse memory failure in Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Wilmott.