SARAH A. LOCKNAR

Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, 1999
Postdoctoral training, UVM College of Medicine

Sarah.Locknar@uvm.edu

 RESEARCH
I am director of the Neuroscience COBRE Imaging and Physiology Core facility and in that role, I maintain several state-of-the-art microscopy systems including a fast calcium-imaging system, a multiphoton microscope and a deconvolution microscope. All three systems may also be set up for simultaneous electrical recordings and fluorescence imaging of ion-chelating or other dyes (such as Fluo-3 for calcium measurements).

With a background in optical spectroscopy, I'm interested in applying spectroscopic methods to imaging technologies. While I do not maintain a research program of my own, I collaborate with several faculty members including Drs. Rod Parsons, Diane Jaworski and Helene Langevin. I also work closely with other faculty members to design experiments that can help them incorporate advanced imaging techniques into their research.

I am also the course director for Techniques in Optical Microscopy, a 3-credit graduate course offered in the spring semester. This course is taught with Jerry Fiekers from the department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Doug Taatjes from the Microscopy Imaging Center. The course consists of lectures, literature discussions and hands-on demos. Students are also asked to write a short proposal using one or more of the techniques discussed in class. Topics include general microscopy and contrast methods, wide-field fluorescence, total-internal reflection microscopy, confocal microscopy, multiphoton microscopy, fluorescence resonant energy transfer, deconvolution and other post-processing techniques.
 SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Girard BM, Young BA, Buttolph TR, Locknar SA, White SL, Parsons RL. (2006). Trophic factor modulation of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide expression in explant cultured guinea-pig cardiac neurons. Neuroscience 139(4):1329-41.

Hardwick JC, Tompkins JD, Locknar SA, Merriam LA, Young BA, Parsons RL.
(2006). Calcium influx through channels other than voltage-dependent calcium channels is critical to the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-induced increase in excitability in guinea pig cardiac neurons. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1070:317-21.

Parsons RL, Locknar SA, Young BA, Hoard JL, Hoover DB. (2006). Presence and co-localization of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide with neuronal nitric oxide synthase in cells and nerve fibers within guinea pig intrinsic cardiac ganglia and cardiac tissue. Cell Tissue Res. 323(2):197-209.

Tompkins JD, Hardwick JC, Locknar SA, Merriam LA, Parsons RL. (2006). Ca2+ influx, but not Ca2+ release from internal stores, is required for the PACAP-induced increase in excitability in guinea pig intracardiac neurons. J Neurophysiol. 95(4):2134-42.

Maloney MS, McDaniel WS, Locknar SA, Torlina HM (2005). Identification and localization of a protein immunologically related to Caltractin (Centrin) in the Myonemes and Membranelles of the Heterotrich ciliate Stentor coeruleus. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 52(4):328-38.

Barstow KL, Locknar SA, Merriam LA, Parsons RL (2004). The modulation of action potential generation by calcium-induced calcium release is enhanced by mitochondrial inhibitors in mudpuppy parasympathetic neurons. Neuroscience 124:327-39. full text

Locknar SA, Barstow KL, Tompkins JD, Merriam LA, Parsons RL (2004). Calcium-induced calcium release regulates action potential generation in guinea-pig sympathetic neurones. J. Physiol. 555:627-35.

 
 LINKS
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