Neuroscience Researcher Awarded $695,700 NIH Research Grant

Dr. Hakeem Lawal, assistant professor of biological sciences, has been awarded a $695,700 National Institute of Health/National Institute of Aging research grant that will support his work in better understanding neurotransmission system.

The grant will fund a five-year study entitled “Cholinergic Neurotransmission during Aging,” which explores how deficits in the acetylcholine neurotransmission system result in cognitive and memory impairment in the aged.  The research will involve the use of the fruit fly to explore this neurological question, providing more insight into how neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease develop.

More specifically, the research will determine how changes in acetylcholine release may cause alterations in behaviors (such as memory impairment) that occur as individuals age. The study also seeks to determine how gradual deficits in acetylcholine release affect properties of acetylcholine neurons during the aging process.

Acetylcholine neurotransmission is necessary for performing normal tasks, such as movement, learning and memory.

“The findings from this work could contribute to our understanding of the changes in the brain that cause age-related behavior decline,” Dr. Lawal said. “It could also ultimately help develop effective therapeutic strategies to address such behavior deficits.”

Dr. Lawal, who has been a faculty member at DSU since 2013, is a researcher with Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research based at DSU in the Mishoe Science Center.