Funded Studies
We are developing an innovative method to identify new treatments for Parkinson's disease (PD) using zebrafish embryos. The method is designed to rapidly screen thousands of potential drugs and to reduce the time it takes to test and validate new drugs. Zebrafish embryos develop a group of dopamine-producing neurons that are similar to those destroyed in PD. By introducing a naturally fluorescent protein into these neurons, we can easily visualize them under the microscope. These fluorescent embryos will then be cultured in chemicals that are known to selectively destroy dopamine-producing neurons. A decrease in fluorescence would indicate that these neurons are dying. This would lead to a model where we can test potential drugs to see if they are capable of protecting or restoring the growth of dopamine-producing neurons. Molecules identified in this system could form the basis for developing new PD drugs.
Dr. Amy Rubinstein received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. After graduation, she worked for two years as a Research Assistant in a cancer research lab at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. In 1990, she enrolled in a PhD program in the biology department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Under the direction of Dr. Patricia Bedinger at North Carolina, Dr. Rubinstein studied the molecular biology of maize pollen development and pollen-pistil interactions. After receiving her PhD at North Carolina, Dr. Rubinstein changed the focus of her research interests to vertebrate biology, specifically the small aquarium fish, the zebrafish. As an NIH-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Rubinstein studied the development of the zebrafish nervous system, under the direction of Dr. Marnie Halpern. In July of 2000, Dr. Rubinstein joined a newly forming biotechnology company in Atlanta, Georgia as Senior Scientist. Zygogen was founded in 1999 to utilize transgenic zebrafish technology for the discovery and screening of new drugs.
Dr. Amy Rubinstein received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. After graduation, she worked for two years as a Research Assistant in a cancer research lab at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. In 1990, she enrolled in a PhD program in the biology department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Under the direction of Dr. Patricia Bedinger at North Carolina, Dr. Rubinstein studied the molecular biology of maize pollen development and pollen-pistil interactions. After receiving her PhD at North Carolina, Dr. Rubinstein changed the focus of her research interests to vertebrate biology, specifically the small aquarium fish, the zebrafish. As an NIH-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Rubinstein studied the development of the zebrafish nervous system, under the direction of Dr. Marnie Halpern. In July of 2000, Dr. Rubinstein joined a newly forming biotechnology company in Atlanta, Georgia as Senior Scientist. Zygogen was founded in 1999 to utilize transgenic zebrafish technology for the discovery and screening of new drugs.