Adam Hall

Assistant Professor Biological Sciences, Smith College

Email: ahall@science.smith.edu
A. Hall's Department Web Site
A. Hall's Laboratory Web Site

Ph.D.: Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London , UK
Postdoctoral training:

I am intrigued by the field of anesthesia and unraveling the mechanisms that underlie the actions of anesthetic agents on the mammalian brain. I previously investigated the molecular mechanisms of volatile anesthetic action in neurons in Prof. Nick Frank's laboratory in the Biophysics Section at Imperial College, Univ. London, UK. We used a variety of techniques to analyze the effects of anesthetic molecules on neuronal ion channels in vitro. These techniques included two-electrode voltage clamp of Xenopus oocytes (frogs eggs) injected with RNA/DNA to express a number of ion channel combinations, voltage-clamp experiments from cell lines transfected with GABA subunit (a, b and g) combinations, and recordings of currents from native neuronal membranes. At Smith my lab is continuing to investigate the effects of volatile agents on new ion channel subunit combinations expressed in oocytes to describe their importance as anesthetic targets.

I have also been working within the field of DNA microarrays, and would like to bring this technology to bear on some anesthetic related questions. Little is understood about the long-term side effects of general anesthetic agents (e.g. post-operative depression and hepatotoxicity of halothane) and some sedatives/anxiolytics (e.g. tolerance/dependence of the barbiturates, benzodiazepines). I am currently establishing a microarray facility for broad screening of mammalian genomes to discover which genes are differentially expressed after long-term exposure to anesthetic or sedative agents.

Representative publications:

Hall, A.C ., Rowan, K.C., Stevens, R.J.N., Kelley, J.C., Harrison , N.L. (2004). Isoflurane relieves slow desensitization in wild-type not mutant (S270H- alpha 1) GABA A receptors in Xenopus oocytes. Anesthesia and Analgesia (in press).

Hall, A.C. and M.E. Harrington (2003) ?Experimental Methods in Neuroscience': an undergraduate neuroscience laboratory course for teaching data collection, statistical analyses and report writing. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education , 2, A1-7.

Hall, A.C ., Suarez, C., Hom-Choudhory, A., Manu, A.N.A., Hall, C.D., Kirkovits, G.J., Ghiriviga, I. (2003). Cation transport by a redox-active synthetic ion channel. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 1, 2973-2982 .

Hall, A.C. , Earle-Cruikshanks, G. and Harrington , M.E. (1999). Role of membrane conductances and protein synthesis in subjective day phase advances of the hamster circadian clock by neuropeptide Y. European Journal of Neuroscience , v 11, 3424-3432

Diaz-Munoz, M., Dent, M.A.R., Granados-Fuentes, D., Hall, A.C. , Hernandez-Cruz, A., Harrington , M.E. , Aguilar-Roblero, R. (1999). Circadian rhythm of expression of the ryanodine receptor type 2 in neurons from the suprachiasmatic nuclei of rodents. Neuroreport, 10, 481-486.

Harrington, M.E., Hoque, S., Hall, A.C., Golombek, D. and Biello, S.M. (1999). Pituitary adenylate ctclase activating peptide phase shifts circadian rhythms in a manner similar to light.. Journal of Neuroscience, 19, 6637-6642

Diaz-Munoz, M., Dent, M.A.R., Granados-Fuentes, D., Hall, A.C., Hernandez-Cruz, A., Harrington, M.E., Aguilar-Roblero, R. (1999). Circadian rhythm of expression of the ryanodine receptor type 2 in neurons from the suprachiasmatic nuclei of rodents. Neuroreport, 10, 481-486.

Hall, A.C., Earle-Cruikshanks, G. and Harrington, M.E. (1999). Role of membrane conductances and protein synthesis in subjective day phase advances of the hamster circadian clock by neuropeptide Y. European Journal of Neuroscience, v 11, 3424-3432

Franks, N.P., Dickinson, R., Sousa, S.L.M., Hall, A.C. and Lieb, W.R. (1998). How does the 'inert' gas xenon produce general anaesthesia? Nature, v 396, 324

Hall, C.D., Lowther, N., Tweedy, B.R., Hall, A.C. and Shaw, G. (1998). The kinetics and mechanism of the phosphorus-catalysed dimerisation of acrylonitrile. Journal of Chemical Society, Perkin 2 2047-2054.