Solomon Snyder, M.D.
Lecturer to home in on neuron signaling
One of the nation's preeminent neuroscientists will deliver next week's Discovery Lecture.
Solomon Snyder, M.D., professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University, will discuss novel signaling in the life and death of neurons at noon on Thursday, April 3, in 208 Light Hall. A reception in the Light Hall lobby will follow the lecture, which is free and open to the public.
Snyder was among the first to develop methods for identifying and characterizing neurotransmitter receptors. He was awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1978 for his pioneering work in identifying the opiate receptors and demonstrating their relationship to endorphins, pain-killing molecules made by the body.
More recently, Snyder and his colleagues have focused on “improbable” neurotransmitters — gases like nitric oxide and carbon monoxide and the amino acid D-serine — and they have discovered a novel cell death signaling cascade.
Snyder is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is listed by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) as one of the 10 most-often cited biologists. His lecture is sponsored by Vanderbilt's Center for Molecular Neuroscience.
For a complete schedule of the Discovery Lecture Series and archived video of previous lectures, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.