Judith Van Houten, Ph.D.
Chair, George H. Perkins Professor of Biology
Co-Director of Vermont Genetics Network
Research Program: Cell Signaling & Growth Control
VCC Membership Level: Member Scientist
Contact Information
120A Marsh Life Science Building
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405
ph: (802) 656-2922
f: (802) 656-2914
Judith.Vanhouten@uvm.edu
Biography
Dr. Van Houten received her Ph.D. in 1977 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was a postdoctoral fellow at NIH from 1977 to 1979, at the University of British Columbia. After holding a visiting assistant professorship for two years at the University of Iowa, she came to UVM, where she has been a full professor in the College of Arts and Sciences since 1992.
George H. Perkins Professor, 1997-2002, reappointed 2002-2007; Manheimer Award for Career Achievements in the Chemosensory Sciences, 1996; University Scholar 1991-92; Claude Pepper Award 1990-1997; elected President Vermont Chapter of Society for Neuroscience; elected to Membership Chair, Assoc. for Chemoreception Sciences 1988-90; Director Cell Biology Program 1988-1994; editorial board for Chemical Senses and NeuroReport; Program Chair, Assoc. for Chemoreception Sciences, 1993-94; President-elect, Assoc. for Chemoreception Sciences, 1994-95, President 1995-96; Chair, CMS Study Section, 1996-98.
Research
The research in Dr. Van Houten's laboratory concerns the function of cilia, and in particular receptors, channels and signaling proteins of the cilia. They use Paramecium with its thousands of cilia as a model system for analyzing the function of orthologs of human genes associated with ciliopathies. They use RNA interference (RNAi) techniques, membrane biochemistry, and physiological methods to piece together the picture of how proteins traffic to the plasma membrane and cilia, and function there in sensing chemicals and controlling ciliary beat through the coordination of ion channels.
Dr. Van Houten's lab also studies mouse olfaction, and mouse olfactory sensory neurons that are ciliated. In these cells, the signal transduction initiated by odors begins in the cilia where receptors and specific ion channels reside. The stimulation of olfactory sensory neurons leads to important increase in intracellular calcium, and the removal of this calcium is crucial to ending adaptation of the signal transduction pathway. Dr. Van Houten studies the roles of calcium clearance enzymes (plasma membrane calcium pumps and the Na/Ca exchanger) and their roles in shaping the calcium transient initiated by odors. They use knock out mice that have no functional plasma membrane calcium pump 2 in both our calcium clearance studies and in behavioral studies to determine whether the mice can smell normally. This latter behavioral study is in collaboration with Dr. Eugene Delay of the Department of Biology and Dr. William Falls of the Department of Psychology.
Recent Publications
Ponissery Saidu S, Weeraratne SD, Valentine M, Delay R, Van Houten JL. (2008) Role of Plasma Membrane Calcium ATPases in Calcium Clearance from Olfactory Sensory Neurons. submitted
Bell WE, JL Van Houten (2008) Common Chemical Sense: Protozoa. In: New Neuroscience Encyclopedia. In press Invited Review. In galleys
Valentine M, Yano J, Van Houten JL. (2008) Chemosensory Transduction in Paramecium. Jpn. Journal of Protozoology. In galleys
Bell WE, Preston RR, Yano J, Van Houten J. (2007) Genetic Dissection of Chemosensory Conductances in Paramecium. J. Exp. Biol. 210: 357-365.
Weeraratne SD, Valentine M, Cusick M, Delay R, Van Houten JL (2006) The plasma membrane calcium pumps of mouse olfactory neurons. Chem. Senses advanced pub.on line July 19, 2006, and 31: 725-730.
Other Key Publications
Yano J, Rachochy V, Van Houten JL. Glycosyl phosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins in chemosensory signaling: antisense manipulation of Paramecium tetraurelia PIG-A gene expression. Eukaryot Cell 2003 Dec 2(6), 1211-9.
de Ondarza J, Symington SB, Van Houten JL, Clark JM. G-protein modulators alter the swimming behavior and calcium influx of Paramecium tetraurelia. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2003 Sep-Oct;50(5):349-55.
Dessen P, Zagulski M, Gromadka R, Plattner H, Kissmehl R, Meyer B, Betermier M, Schultz J, Linder JU, Pearlman RE, Kung C, Forney J, Satir B, Van Houten J., Keller A-M., Froissard M, Sperling L, Cohen J. (2001) Paramecium genome survey: a pilot project. Trends in Genetics 17: 306-308.
Paquette CA, Rakochy V, Bush A, and Van Houten JL. GPI anchored proteins in Paramecium tetraurelia: Possible role in chemoresponse. J. Exp. Biol. 2001 204: 2899-2910.
Van Houten JL. Chemoreception in Microorganisms. In "Neurobiology of Taste and Smell." Silver, Restrepo, Finger eds., Wiley, NY. Pg 11-40. 2000.
Van Houten JL, Yang WQ, Bergeron, A. Glutamate chemosensory signal transduction in Paramecium. J Nutrition. 2000 130: 946S-949S.
Symington S, Zhang A, Karstens W, Van Houten JL, Clark JM. Characterization of pyrethroid action on ciliary calcium channels in Paramecium tetraurelia. Pesticide Biochem. Physiol. 1999 65: 181-193.
