Robert Bowser is an associate professor of pathology and a professor of neurobiology in the School of Medicine. He is the Director of the ALS Tissue Bank, where he helps to create the largest such tissue repository in the country. Dr. Bowser is also a member of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Robert Bowser is also the Director of the ALS Research for the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and at the Center for ALS Research at the University of Pittsburgh. His research into understanding Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (known as ALS, or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease) has led to various public service activities that directly benefit patients with neurologic diseases.
Dr. Bowser received his Ph.D in Cell Biology from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Bowser's research interests focus on determining the molecular and cellular basis of neurodegenerative diseases. His lab is currently investigating how cell cycle proteins and transcription factors that function during brain development contribute to neurodegeneration in neurologic diseases. Studies have focused on human fetal brain development, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The lab is under the hypothesis that the activation of cell cycle proteins and transcription factors, initially a compensatory response to neuronal insult, ultimately results in increased stress and cell death. They focus on determining the pathways that result in activation of these cell cycle proteins will lead to new therapeutic strategies for neurologic diseases. Molecular biological approaches, including traditional gene cloning techniques and DNA microarrays, have led to the discovery of novel genes that are expressed at high levels during brain development, lower levels in non-demented adult brain, and re-expressed during the early stages of the disease process. Recent studies have demonstrated that one of our alternatively expressed genes, called FAC1, binds DNA and functions as a transcriptional regulator. FAC1 interacts with other transcription factors that function during the cell cycle, including the retinoblastoma (Rb) protein. Currently the lab is formulating a molecular mechanism important for normal brain development that is re-activated during Alzheimer's disease and ALS. Cell culture model systems are being utilized to determine the function of these interacting transcription factors during cell differentiation and neurite outgrowth. Dr. Bowser’s interest is in understanding how regulated gene expression controls both brain development and neurodegeneration. Dr. Bower’s research efforts have been highlighted in the following publications.
Trainees in Dr. Bowser's laboratory have the opportunity to investigate the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in human neurologic diseases and also to characterize the function of a newly identified synaptic protein. Techniques used within the laboratory include immunocytochemistry of human brain tissue, confocal laser microscopy, cell culture, and numerous molecular biological techniques, including gel mobility shift assays, gene cloning and DNA sequencing, Southern and Northern blots, and in situ hybridization.
Dr. Robert Bowser is a member of several University Committees some include the; Department of Pathology Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program and the Chancellor’s selection committee for annual faculty Public Service Award. He is also a member of a few Non University Committees that include; Scientific Advisor on Alzheimer disease to RBC Capital Markets (Royal Bank of Canada Corporate and Investment Group) The Board of Directors, Western PA Chapter of the ALS Association, the Patient Services Committee, Western PA Chapter of the ALS Association and the Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy – an organized group of scientists that lobby Congressional leaders for continued NIH support and provide technical expertise on scientific issues.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Dr. Robert P. BowserPhone: (412) 383-7819
Email: bowserrp@upmc.edu