Dr. José E. Lizardi Ortiz is the Facility Coordinator of the COBRE Center for Neuroplasticity at the University of Puerto Rico and an Adjunct Professor at The Institute of Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico. His research interests are basal ganglia neurophysiology and development of pharmacotherapy for movement disorders and drugs of abuse. His work is focused on: (1) regulation of acetylcholine and dopamine release in the striatum and the molecular basis leading to their aberrant release in these disorders, (2) structure-function relationships of psychostimulants on nicotinic receptors and monoamine transporters, and (3) structure-based drug design following the amphetamine therapeutic approach.
Education
- Postdoc, Neuropharmacology and Neurophysiology, Columbia University, New York, NY
- Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, P.R.
- B.S., Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, P.R.
Research Interests
- Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
- Monoamine Transporters and Receptors
- Amphetamine-type Psychostimulants
- Parkinson Disease and L-DOPA-induced Dyskinesia
- Electrophysiology and Electrochemistry
- Confocal and Two-photon Microscopy
- Time-correlated Single Photon Counting
- Molecular & Cell Biology
- Behavioral Paradigms