Jennifer Bourne, Ph.D.   Jennifer Bourne, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin
jbourne@mail.clm.utexas.edu

Laboratory of Synapse Structure and Function

            Background:

 

Jen is originally from Broomfield, Colorado and a graduate of the University  of Denver with a BS degree in biology and psychology. Her interest in neuroscience began in the laboratory of Dr. John C. Kinnamon, where she did her senior thesis on the colocalization of serotonin with synaptic proteins in vertebrate taste cells. Ever the overachiever, Jen did a second senior thesis in the Department of Psychology working with Dr. Bruce Pennington to explore the contributions of cognitive flexibility to pragmatic language difficulties in autism. 

Following her graduation from DU in 1999, Jen enrolled in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program at Yale University. Under the tutelage of Dr. Vincent Pieribone, she conducted her Ph.D. thesis work on the role of actin and actin-binding proteins in neurotransmission using the lamprey spinal cord preparation. It was during her time in Dr. Pieribone’s lab that Jen discovered her love of electron microscopy. After spending endless hours gazing into an ancient Zeiss electron microscope in a converted bathroom in the basement, Jen was convinced that she had found her calling. A fortuitous opportunity arose to host Dr. Kristen Harris when she came to Yale in February of 2003. After discussing their mutual interests, Jen finagled an interview to come do her post-doctoral work at MCG with Dr. Harris.  Fortunately, she was hired and is currently working on determining the structural basis for LTP in the adult rat hippocampus.

          Selected Publications:


                  Bourne, J.N. and Harris, K.M. (2007). Balancing structure and function at hippocampal dendritic spines. Annual Review of Neuroscience.
                Vol. 31. In press.
                  Bourne, J.N., Kirov, S.A., Sorra, K.E., and Harris, K.M. (2007). Warmer preparation of hippocampal slices prevents synapse proliferation
                that might obscure LTP-related structural plasticity. Neuropharmacology. 52:55-59.
                  Bourne, J.N., Sorra, K.E., Hurlburt, J. and Harris, K.M. (2007). Polyribosomes are increased in spines of CA1 dendrites 2 hours after the
                induction of LTP in mature rat hippocampal slices. Hippocampus. 16:1-4.
                  Bourne, J.N. and Harris, K.M. (2007). Do thin spines learn to be mushroom spines that remember? Current Opinion in
                Neurobiology. 17:381-386.
                  Bourne, J.N. and Harris, K.M. (2007). Dendritic Spines. In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester
                 http://www.els.net/ [DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000093.pub2]
                  Harris, K.M., Perry, L., Bourne, J.N., Feinberg, M., Ostroff, L., and Hurlburt, J. (2006). Uniform serial sectioning for transmission electron
                microscopy. Journal of Neuroscience. 26:12101-12103.
                  Bourne, J., Morgan, J.R., and Pieribone, V.A. (2006). Actin polymerization regulates clathrin coat maturation during early stages of
                synaptic vesicle recycling at lamprey synapses. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 497:600-609.
                  Bourne, J.N. and Harris, K.M. (2006). Synaptic Structure: Postsynaptic Organization: Ultrastructural analysis of spine plasticity.
                The New Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Ed. L. Squire. New York: Elsevier.
                  Chen, Y., Bourne, J., Pieribone, V.A., Fitzsimonds, R.M. (2004). The role of actin in the regulation of dendritic spine morphology
                and bidirectional synaptic plasticity. Neuroreport. 15(5):829-32. Reviews and Book Chapters:
                  Chen Y, Bourne J, Pieribone VA, Fitzsimonds RM. The role of actin in the regulation of dendritic spine morphology and bidirectional
                synaptic plasticity. Neuroreport. 2004 Apr 9;15(5):829-32.

Last Updated: 05/16/2008