Javitch Jonathan

Biography

He is professsor at Columbia University.

Research Interest

Dr. Javitch’s research focuses on the structure, function and regulation of G protein-coupled receptors and neurotransmitter transporters, with an emphasis on dopamine D2 receptor and dopamine transporter, the targets, respectively, for antipsychotic drugs and psychostimulants, using biochemical and biophysical approaches to elucidate molecular mechanisms of drug action, receptor signaling and sodium-coupled transport. His studies of GPCRs are uncovering unappreciated regulation of signaling by heteromeric complexes of receptors, raising the possibility of a novel approach to drug design and screening. In collaboration with leading experts in the field, his laboratory is also pursuing single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and crystallographic studies of bacterial homologs of neurotransmitter transporters to explicate the mechanisms of sodium-coupled transport and the actions of antidepressant drugs that inhibit transport. The laboratory is also studying the function and regulation of dopamine transporter and dopamine receptors in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, where they have developed approaches to translate between molecular mechanisms and whole organism behavior using the power of fly genetics and multiphoton imaging.