Personal Information:
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High School : Southern Lehigh High School Undergraduate Education : Ursinus College, Chemistry Graduate School Program : Chemistry, Penn State University Favorite Activities : Golf, raquetball, weightlifting, reading, Survivor Words of Wisdom : "The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm." -Aldous Huxley |
Research:
Genetically-engineered mouse models have been extremely important in the study of disease. I am interested in studying protein expression in a mouse model of depression. Specifically, the improvement and implementation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) to measure brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as well as the development of a self-assembled neurotransmitter chip for proteomic analysis.
Publications:
Exploring the Relationship Between Serotonin and Brain Derived
Neurotrophic Factor: Analysis of BDNF Protein and Extraneuronal 5-HT in
Mice with Reduced Serotonin Transporter or BDNF Expression. M.E.
Szapacs, T.A. Mathews, L. Tesserolo, W.E. Lyons, L.A. Mamounas and A.M.
Andrews. Journal of Neuroscience Methods (ABSTRACT or PDF).
Late Onset Loss of Hippocampal 5-HT and NE is Accompanied by a Dramatic
Increase in BDNF Protein Expression in Mice Co-expressing Mutant APP
and PS1. M.E. Szapacs, A.L. Numis, and A.M. Andrews. Neurobiology of
Disease (ABSTRACT or PDF).
Small-Scale Synthesis of Aspirin with Qualitative and Quantitative
Analysis of the Product in One Lab Period. M.E. Szapacs, M.J. Bojan,
and J.T. Keiser. The Chemical Educator (submitted).
The Chemistry of the Mind. M.E. Szapacs, X. A. Perez, and A.M. Andrews,
Journal of Chemical Education (in preparation).
The Neurotransmitter Chip: A Device to Study Protein Expression. M.E.
Szapacs, A.M. McGraw, E.D. Horowitz, R.S. Bridges, T.S. Brown, P.B.
Bevilacqua, R.L. Funk, A.D. Jones, P.S. Weiss, and A.M. Andrews, (in
progress).
Life-long reductions in serotonin transporter expression protect
hippocampus from age-related serotonergic neurodegeneration:
Implications for the human aging brain. E. L. Unger, B. A. Luellen,
M.E. Szapacs, A.L. Numis, K.J. Sowinski, W.E. Lyons, L.A. Mamounas and
A.M. Andrews, Nature (in preparation).
Presentations:
November 2003 Society for Neuroscience Conference 2003. BDNF
Levels
in SERT Knockout Mice and Their Responsiveness to Stress. New Orleans,
LA. M.E. Szapacs, A.P. McGraw, K.J. Sowinski, A.M. Andrews (Poster)
March 2003 Pittsburgh Conference 2003. Synthesis of Serotonin or
Dopamine Coupled to Solid Support Permitting Interaction of All
Available Functional Groups. Orlando, FL. M.E. Szapacs, E.D. Horowitz,
R.S. Bridges, P.C. Bevilacqua, R.L. Funk, A.M. Andrews (Poster)
August 2002 American Chemical Society Conference 2002. Small-Scale
Synthesis of Aspirin with Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of the
Product in One Lab Period. Boston, MA. M.E. Szapacs, M.J. Bojan, J.T.
Keiser (Poster)
August 2002 American Chemical Society Conference 2002. Unraveling the
Serotonin-BDNF Conundrum Using ELISA and in vivo Microdialysis. Boston,
MA. T.A. Mathews, M.E. Szapacs, D.E. Fedele, W.E. Lyons, L.A. Mamounas,
A.M. Andrews (Poster)
March 2002 Gordon Research Conference (Bioanalytical Sensors) 2002.
Synthesis of Serotonin or Dopamine Coupled to Solid Support Permitting
Interaction of All Available Functional Groups. Ventura, CA. M.E.
Szapacs, E.D. Horowitz, R.S. Bridges, P.C. Bevilacqua, R.L. Funk, A.M.
Andrews (Poster)
November 2001 Society for Neuroscience Conference 2001. 5-HT, NE and
BDNF Levels In Mice With Pharmacologically or Genetically Induced
Decreases In 5-HT Uptake. San Diego, CA. M.E. Szapacs; C.M. McCann;
E.L. Unger; A.M. Andrews (Poster)
Honors:
Dan Waugh Memorial Teaching Award, 2002
Pennsylvania State University Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, 2004
