I am currently doing a post-doc at Stanford University in the the laboratory of Robert Sapolsky. I did my graduate work at the University of Chicago in the laboratory of Bernard Roizman studying gene regulation in Herpes simplex virus-1. My current research uses Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) amplicons for gene transfer in vivo and in vitro to study the effects of overexpressing genes in hippocampal neurons. The specialized nature of neurons as highly adapted and adaptable cells has had the result that these cells are extremely sensitive to rapid changes in their environment such as occurs during neuronal injury. The subsequent cascade of events, during neuronal injury, leads to inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation, decreased pH, decreased ATP, generation of free radicals and membrane depolarization. We select genes to overexpress based on these phenomena, for example overexpress a glucose transporter to counteract decreased ATP levels. This approach targets specific symptoms and has been demonstrated to prevent neuronal death due to insult. This approach does not necessarily result in a fully functional neuron and the restoration of cognitive ability. It is my hope that this course will provide me with enough of a background to begin to model some of these events in order to design more effective interventions to this injury driven cascade. Pictured with me is my son Jupiter Caleb Jones.