Michael S. Grotewiel, Ph.D.

Education

• Biology Major (1984-85) Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
• B.A. in Biological Sciences (1988) University of Missouri, Columbia
• Ph.D. in Pharmacology (1995) Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.

Professional experience

• 2004 to present: Associate professor, Department of Human Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
• 1998 to 2004: Assistant professor, Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
• 1995 to 1998: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

Honors

• 2001 to 2006: NIH Research Career Development Award
• 1994: Best Poster, Graduate Student Research Day
• 1990 to 1994: Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Scholar
• 1985 to 1986: University of Missouri Scholar
• 1984 to 1985: Texas A&M University Scholar
• 1984 to 1985: Ruffner Memorial Science Scholar

Funded research

• National Institute on Aging, "Longevity and Functional Senescence in Drosophila," R01 AG022322, pending. Principal investigator.
• National Institute on Aging, "Functional Senescence in Drosophila," R03 AG21199, 2002-04. Principal investigator.
• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, "Molecular Characterization of 17p11.2," R01 HD 38534, 2001-06. Collaborator with Dr. Sarah Elsea, Michigan State University.
• National Institute of Mental Health, "Genetic Dissection of Olfactory Memory in Drosophila," K02 MH64160, 2001-06. Principal investigator.
• National Institute of Mental Health, "Integrins in Drosophila Learning and Memory," R01 MH60787, 2000-05. Principal investigator.
• Whitehall Foundation, "The Role of b Integrins in Drosophila Learning and Memory," 1999-12-37-APL, 2000-04. Principal investigator.
• Michigan State University Intramural Research Grant Program, "Integrin-associated Proteins in Drosophila Memory," 40282, 2000-01. Principal investigator.
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Postdoctoral Fellowship (competitive renewal), "Integrins in Drosophila Olfactory Memory," F32 NS09886, 1998-99 (declined after accepting faculty position at Michigan State University). Principal investigator.
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Postdoctoral Fellowship, "Integrins in Drosophila Olfactory Memory," F32 NS09886, 1996-98. Principal investigator.
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association Foundation Advanced Predoctoral Fellowship, "The Role of G protein-coupling in Serotonin Receptor Regulation by Agonists and Antagonists," 1993-94. Principal investigator.

Research interests

My laboratory studies the molecular-genetic bases of nervous system function and aging in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We use this organism as our model system for several reasons. First, there are many powerful genetic tools that can be used to manipulate the genome of fruit flies. Thus, it is possible to mutate genes of interest, alter their expression patterns, impair their function, and search for other genes that function within a particular genetic pathway. Second, flies are capable of performing a number of behavioral tasks in the laboratory that can be quantitatively measured. Since these different behaviors depend on the function of distinct brain systems and typically decline with age, studying the behaviors provides insight into the function of specific regions of the nervous system within the context of aging. Finally, the fundamental aspects of neuron and gene function are conserved throughout the animal kingdom as are many aspects of aging. Thus, the information obtained from our studies in fruit flies will facilitate a more global understanding of the molecular events underlying brain function and aging.

Selected publications

• Poonam Bhandari and Michael S. Grotewiel (2005) Odor attraction and aversion in Drosophila depend on central brain expression of the b integrin gene myospheroid (in preparation).
• Michael S. Grotewiel, Ian Martin, Poonam Bhandari and Eric Cook-Wiens (2005) Functional Senescence in Drosophila melanogaster. Aging Research Reviews, in press.
• Julia Warner Gargano, Poonam Bhandari, Ian Martin and Michael S. Grotewiel (2005) Rapid Iterative Negative Geotaxis (RING): A new method for assessing age-related locomotor declines in Drosophila, J Exp Ger, in press.
• Ian Martin, Julia Warner Gargano and Michael S. Grotewiel (2005) A proposed set of descriptors for functional senescence data. Aging Cell, in press.
• Jon R. Stoltzfus and Michael S. Grotewiel (2003) Novel Isoforms of Drosophila Annexins Produced by Alternative Splicing. Dros. Inf. Serv. 86;97-105.
• Goddeeris MM, Cook-Wiens E, Horton WJ, Wolf H, Stoltzfus JR, Grotewiel MS (2003) Delayed Behavioral Aging and Altered Mortality in Drosophila b integrin Mutants. Aging Cell 2;257-264.
• Stoltzfus JR, Horton WJ, Grotewiel MS (2003) Odor-Guided Behavior in Drosophila requires Calreticulin. J Comp Phys [A] 189; 471-483.
• Cook-Wiens E, Grotewiel MS (2002) Dissociation between Functional Senescence and Oxidative Stress Resistance in Drosophila. J Exp Ger 37(12):1345-55.
• Rohrbough J, Grotewiel MS, Davis RL, Broadie K (2000) Integrin-Mediated Regulation of Synaptic Morphology, Transmission, and Plasticity. J Neurosci 20(18): 6868-6878.
• Grotewiel MS, Sanders-Bush E (1999) Differences in Agonist-Independent Activity of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C Receptors Revealed by Heterologous Expression, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 359; 21-27.
• Grotewiel MS, Beck CDO, Wu K, Zhu X, Davis RL (1998) Integrin-Mediated Short-Term Memory in Drosophila. Nature 391(1); 455-461.
• Han K, Millar NS, Grotewiel MS, Davis RL (1996) DAMB, a Novel Dopamine Receptor Expressed Specifically in Drosophila Mushroom Bodies. Neuron 16(6); 1127-1135.
• Grotewiel MS, Chu H, Sanders-Bush E (1994) m-Chlorophenyl-piperazine and m-Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine are Partial Agonists at 5-HT2A Receptors Expressed in Fibroblasts. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 271(2); 1122-1126.
• Grotewiel MS, Sanders-Bush E (1994) Regulation of 5-HT2A Receptors in Heterologous Expression Systems. J Neurochem 63(4); 1255-1260.