Uel Jackson McMahan
Academic Appointments
- Emeritus Faculty, Acad Council, Neurobiology
- Member, Bio-X
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email
Professional Overview
Administrative Appointments
- Member, Appointments and Promotions (A&P) Committee, School of Medicine (2005 - 2008)
- Member, Administrative Panel for Laboratory Animal Care (APLAC) (1999 - 2005)
- Chairman, Committee on Graduate Studies (1989 - 1990)
- Chairman, Department of Neurobiology (1987 - 1992)
- Director, Neurosciences Program (1986 - 1991)
Honors and Awards
- Research Career Development Award, NIH (1973-1977)
- Jacob Javits Neurosciences Investigator Award, NIH (1984-1991)
- Jacob Javits Neurosciences Investigator Award, NIH (1991-1998)
- Alumni Achievement Award, Westminster College, Fulton, MO (1996)
- Prix (Plasticite Neuronale): shared with G. Fischbach (Harvard) and H.Betz (MPI, Frankfurt), Fondation IPSEN/Fondation de France (1998)
Professional Education
| B.A.: | Westminster College, Fulton, MO, Biology (1960) |
| Ph.D.: | U Tennessee Med Units, Memphis,TN, Anatomy (1964) |
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Community and International Work
- Visiting Lecture Team Program, Economically underdeveloped nations
Internet Links
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
We use three-dimensional reconstructions of tissue sections generated by electron microscope tomography to study the organization and behavior of macromolecules at the nervous systems synapses. The information we obtain provides insights unobtainable in any other way about the molecular mechanisms involved in synaptic impulse transmission and the sequence of steps in synapse formation. To augment our studies we are developing methods for localizing known proteins to specific macromolecules observed by tomography and for the quantitative analysis of tomographic data, technologies that can be applied to the investigation of macromolecules in any tissue.
Publications
- Regulation of synaptic vesicle docking by different classes of macromolecules in active zone material. PLoS One. 2012; (3): e33333
- Macromolecular connections of active zone material to docked synaptic vesicles and presynaptic membrane at neuromuscular junctions of mouse. J Comp Neurol. 2009; (5): 457-68
- Methods for generation high-resolution structural models from electron microscope tomography data. Structure. 2004; (10): 1763-1774
- The architecture of active zone material at the frog's neuromuscular junction. Nature. 2001; (6819): 479-84
- Automatic acquisition of fiducial markers and alignment of images in tilt series for electron tomography. J Electron Microsc (Tokyo). 1999; (3): 277-87
- Dissection of active zones at the neuromuscular junction by EM tomography. J Physiol Paris. 1998; (2): 75-8
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