Dr. Thomas Stroh is interested in G protein-coupled receptors. Specifically, his research focuses on the mechanisms governing the availability of receptors at the cell surface of neurons and of neuroendocrine cells, that can determine their sensitivity to endogenous transmitters and neuropeptides and, by extension, to pharmacological agents acting at the same receptors as the endogenous messengers. Using the family of somatostatin receptors as a model system, which is composed of five receptor subtypes, he seeks to understand how the density of any given receptor subtype at the cell surface is regulated and how the different receptor subtypes interact in this process.

Dr. Stroh studies these phenomena both in vivo and in cell culture, using standard cell lines, which he transfects with combinations of recombinant receptors and accessory proteins involved in intracellular trafficking, as well as cells endogenously expressing somatostatin receptors. He applies a combination of biochemical, cell biological and neuroanatomical methods to these studies, placing a particular emphasis on the combination of light and electron microscopic approaches with receptor binding techniques to correlate anatomy with function. The goal of these studies is to better understand the mechanisms which regulate this plasticity in cellular sensitivity to transmitters, peptides, and drugs.

Dr. Stroh also supervises the MNI Microscopy Unit. This comprises common microscopic equipment of the MNI such as confocal microscopes, laser micromanipulation, and stereologic equipment.

See Publications

E-mail: Thomas Stroh
Web Site: MNI Microscopy Unit