Program Director
Professor of Neuroscience
he/him/his
EDUCATION
BSc Biochemistry, University of Bath
PhD Neuroscience, University of London
Postdoctoral Training, Johns Hopkins University; University of London
Stephen J. Moss is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Tufts University a position supported by the Tufts Endowed Basic Science Research Fund for Neuroscience. In addition, he is co-director of the AstraZeneca/Tufts Laboratory For Basic and Translational Neuroscience Research, a venture which commenced in 2013.
Moss Laboratories focus on the endogenous mechanisms neurons use to regulate the efficacy of synaptic inhibition mediated by the γ-aminobutyric acid receptors (GABAAR). Accordingly, deficits in the efficacy of GABAergic inhibition lead to anxiety, depression, epilepsy, neurodegenerative disorders, schizophrenia and substance abuse.
Our work has focused on the role that covalent modifications, such as phosphorylation, play in regulating GABAAreceptor membrane trafficking, and how these processes contribute to the formation of inhibitory synapses. Using genetic manipulation in mice we have begun to analyze the significance of phosphorylation on neuronal excitability, neuronal structure and animal behavior. More recently we have begun to examine the mechanisms by which neurosteroids exert sustained effects on GABAergic inhibition and the role that dynamic changes in the activity of the K+/Cl–co-transporter play in regulating neuronal Cl–homeostasis and its role in limiting neuronal hyperexcitability.
Collectively our studies have shown that dynamic changes in the membrane trafficking and/or activity of GABAARs and KCC2 play central roles in regulating the efficacy of neuronal inhibition and these processes directly impact on animal behavior and neurological disorders.
Much of the current emphasis of our research focuses on exploiting the novel molecular mechanisms we have identified to aid the development of novel therapeutics to alleviate the burdens of epilepsy and other unmet medical needs.
These translational approaches are facilitated via strong collaborations with Astrazeneca and SAGE Therapeutics, a Boston based company, with whom we have worked since their foundation in 2011.
There are few things that are more important in life than GABA, one of them is Liverpool Football Club. You will never walk alone at Moss Labs!
OTHER APPOINTMENTS
2000-present. Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College, London, UK.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
2008-present, Professor of Neuroscience, Tufts University.
2003-2008, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania.
2000-2003, Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, U.K.
1997-2000, Reader in Pharmacology and Cell Biology, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, University, College London, U.K.
1994-1997, Senior Fellow, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, and Department of Pharmacology, University College London, U.K.
1992-1993, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Department of Biology, University College London, U.K., supervisor; Martin Raff CBE, FRS, FMedSci.
1989-1992, Howard Hughes Research Associate, Department of Neuroscience, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, U.S.A; supervisor Richard Huganir
1988-1989, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Mammalian Cell Expression Group, British Biotechnology Ltd, Oxford, U.K.
1984-1987, Ph.D. Student, Imperial College London and G.D. Searle & Co., High, Wycombe, U.K., supervisors; Eric A Barnard FRS and Sir Brian Richards CBE.
PUBLICATIONS AND METRICS
H factor = 89 (Google Scholar; 215 papers) see:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/stephen.moss.1/bibliograpahy/40344864/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending
LINKS
University College London Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology