Hubert Amrein, PhD
Professor
Contact
Department of Cell Biology and Genetics
4350 MREB II
8447 John Sharp Parkway
Bryan,
TX
77807
amrein@tamu.edu
Phone: 979.436.0799
Fax: 979.847.9481
Biography
Dr. Amrein joined Texas A&M College of Medicine in 2009 as a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics. He served as associate department head from 2012 to 2018 before he was appointed executive associate dean of research in September 2018. Dr. Amrein's research focuses on neural coding of chemosensory perception and neuropeptide signaling using insect model systems. He earned his PhD from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and conducted postdoctoral studies with Dr. Tom Maniatis at Harvard University and Dr. Richard Axel at Columbia University. Prior to his appointment to Texas A&M University, Dr. Amrein was on the faculty of Duke University School of Medicine from 1998 to 2009.Education and Training
- University of Zürich, BS, 1983
- University of Zürich, PhD, 1989
Research Interests
- Amrein's broad research interests are concerned with the sensory perception of the external chemical world. The central questions investigated in the laboratory are concerned with how animals detect and discriminate among the thousands of different chemical signals that "flood" the olfactory and taste organs. The laboratory uses Drosophila as a model to study these problems because the Drosophila chemosensory systems are structurally and functionally very similar to those of mammals, yet they are smaller and somewhat less complex, which makes them excellent models to investigate the molecular and neural basis of olfaction and taste.
- The current focus of the lab is to determine the molecular and neural basis of sugar and amino acid perception. In addition, the laboratory seeks to identify and determine the role of pheromone receptors in social behaviors including, courtship and mating, egg laying, and aggression. A new and exciting line of studies involves the search for receptors and signaling molecules involved in auditory perception. Acoustic signals, along with pheromone cues, provide the major sensory input in the social interaction of Drosophila, as well as many other animals.
- The laboratory takes advantage of all molecular and genetic tools available in the Drosophila model system, including classic genetic analysis, transgenesis, gene knock out studies using homologous recombination and all types of RNA and DNA analyses (microarray, qRT-PCR, Northern and Southern analysis etc). A variety of cellular and anatomical investigations of the chemosensory systems and the CNS using immunological methods (antibody staining etc), as well as in situ hybridization, are also employed. Finally, the functional analysis of genetically modified animals is pursued using numerous behavioral paradigms and electrophysiological assays.
Representative Publications
Lab Members
Graduate Students
- Sheida Hedjazi, PhD candidate
Postdoctoral Fellows
- Shinsuke Fujii, PhD, Associate Research Scientist
- Tetsuya Miyamoto, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
- Ji-Eun Ahn, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Research Support
- Chika Miyamoto, BS
- Alejandra Gonzalez, PhD
Undergraduate Students
- Elaine Soliman, BS candidate
- Alondra Loredo, BS candidate