Pfizer

I was trained as a neuronal cell biologist during my graduate school years at Drexel University College of Medicine where I focused on the role of Kinesin-5, a mitotic motor protein in growth cone guidance and formation of neuronal connections during development.

I joined Pfizer Neuroscience Postdoctoral program in March 2011. I am currently working in the Translational cellular and circuit plasticity laboratory (TCCPL) under the guidance of Michael Ehlers. The focus of our group is to understand the basic biology involved in various neuropsychiatric diseases at the cellular and circuitry level. I intend to apply my expertise in cell biology to understand the cellular basis of cila-specific signaling in adult neurons and also use this opportunity of working in an industrial environment to translate some of the basic research into projects that may assist in identification of druggable targets.

Mentor: Michael Ehlers

Liu, M.; Nadar, V.; Kozielski, F.; Kozlowska, M.; Yu, W.; Baas, P. W. “Kinesin-12, a mitotic microtubule-associated motor protein, impacts axonal growth, navigation and branching”, The Journal of Neuroscience, 2010, 30, 14896 – 14906.

Nadar, V.; Ketschek, A.; Myers, K. A.; Gallo, G.; Baas, P. W. “Kinesin-5 is essential for growth cone turning”, Current Biology, 2008, 18, 1972 – 1977.

Myers, K. A.; Tint, I.; Nadar, C. V.; He, Y.; Black, M. M.; Baas, P. W. “Antagonistic forces generated by cytoplasmic dynein and myosin-II during growth cone turning and axonal retraction”, Traffic, 2006, 10, 1333 – 51.

Why did you choose Pfizer?

I am interested in understanding the biology of formation of neuronal connections and its implication in disease state. Pfizer neuroscience provides the best platform to carry out basic research in this area and take it further into the translational arena. As a postdoc, I consider this as a great opportunity to be simultaneously trained in doing great science and be exposed to translational research.

Why did you choose to study neuroscience (as a chemist or biologist)?

We all are interested in how our brain works. I have always been keen about the brain development and how the function is compromised in different disease situations and therefore chose to understand the biology of brain development and function.

What do you enjoy most about your position?

The thing that I enjoy the most is that every experiment I do has a higher probability to have a direct impact on target identification, and maybe one day a cure for diseases.

Summarize your work day in 5 words:

Workout, Dissections, Imaging, Click chemistry, Coffee chat.

What is the post-doc community like at Pfizer?

The post-doc community is proactive and helpful with a focus on doing great science and having a fun time doing that.

What is the working environment like in Pfizer?

The working environment is very co-operative at Pfizer with a lot of opportunities for cross-talk between the biologists and chemists. You will always find someone to bounce your ideas off and the most important thing is that your project is never limited by techniques that you are trained in.

Which conferences did you / are you going to attend this year? Did you/ Are you going to present?

I attended the Gordon Conference on “Excitatory Synapses” in 2011, immediately after I joined the program.