Peter R. MacLeish, Ph.D.
Professor
Neurobiology
Location: Multidisciplinary Research Center F-22614
Phone: 404-756-5786
E-mail: pmacleish@msm.edu
Education
POSTGRADUATE:Harvard Medical School
Postdoctoral Training: Neurobiology
GRADUATE:
Harvard University
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
UNDERGRADUATE:
University of Western Ontario
Degree: Bachelor of Engineering Science (Electrical)
Research Interests
One component of my work focuses on the functional properties of mature neurons from
the salamander and primate retina. These are neurons that have completed their neuroanatomical
differentiation in the animal. The general approach is to isolate cells following
enzymatic treatment of tissue and to use the characteristic morphology of cells to
identify them. Our main experimental approaches are electrophysiology and optical
imaging. We have studied phototransduction, synapse formation among the classes of
retinal cells and the ionic conductances and their compartmentalization in identified
cells. To improve the poor adhesion of mature neurons to conventional substrates,
we have immobilized select antibodies that target cell surface antigens to coverslips
to promote cell adhesion.
A second component focuses on the ability of adult newts to regenerate a new retina
from retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Enucleation of an eye followed by re-implantation
leads to retinal degeneration and to the generation of a new retina through a series
of steps involving RPE cells. The steps include the depigmentation of the RPE cells
followed by proliferation and differentiation of RPE-derived cells into an intact
and functional retina. Our aim is to determine the conditions that support retinal
regeneration in vitro to help identify the cellular and molecular events that control
the retinal regenerative process.
Publications
- Klein L.R., MacLeish P.R. and Wiesel, T.N. Immunolabelling by a newt retinal pigment epithelium antibody during retinal development and regeneration. J. Comp. Neurol. 293: 331-339, 1990.
- Yagi T. and MacLeish, P. R. Ionic conductances of monkey solitary cone inner segments. J. Neurophysiol., 71: 656-665, 1994.
- MacLeish, P.R. and Nurse, C.A. Ion channel compartments in photoreceptors: Evidence from salamander rods with intact and ablated terminals. J. Neurophysiology 98: 86-95, 2007.
- O’Brien, J.J., Chen, X., MacLeish, P.R., O’Brien, J. and Massey, S.C. Photoreceptor Coupling Mediated by Connexin 36 in the Primate Retina. J. Neuroscience 32:4675-4687, 2012.
- Jorgenson, L.A., Newsome, W.T., Anderson, D.J., Bargmann, C.I., Brown, E.N., Deisseroth, K., Donoghue, J.P., Hudson, K.L., Ling, G.S.F., MacLeish, P.R., Marder, E., Normann, R.A., Sanes, J.R., Schnitzer, M.J., Sejnowski, T.J., Tank, D.W., Tsien, R.Y., Ugurbil, K., Wingfield, J.C. The BRAIN Initiative: developing technology to catalyse neuroscience research. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 370: 20140164, 2015.
Honors and Awards
- Member, Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
- Member, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
- Member, NIH BRAIN Working Group