Douglas Stuart Portman, Ph.D.

Douglas Stuart Portman, Ph.D.

Contact Information

University of Rochester Medical Center
School of Medicine and Dentistry
601 Elmwood Ave, Box 645
Rochester, NY 14642

Office: (585) 275-7414
Lab: (585) 275-7915
Fax: (585) 276-1947

Research Bio

Genetic Control of Sex Differences in Neurobiology and Disease



Though the existence of two sexes is a fundamental characteristic of nearly all animal species, the way biological sex brings about sex differences in the brain and behavior is poorly understood. Moreover, susceptibility to a host of human neurological and mental health disorders is strongly influenced by gender, but in most cases the biological bases for these differences remain opaque. Our research uses a simple, experimentally tractable model system--the small soil nematode C. elegans--to shed light on the genetic underpinnings of sex differences in neural development, behavior, and disease susceptibility.

For more information, please visit the lab website at: http://wormweb.urmc.rochester.edu/

Recent Journal Articles

Showing the 5 most recent journal articles. 16 available »

2012
Mowrey WR, Portman DS. "Sex differences in behavioral decision-making and the modulation of shared neural circuits." . 2012 3:8. Epub 2012 Mar 21.
2011 Sep 14
Miller RM, Portman DS. "The Wnt/beta-catenin asymmetry pathway patterns the atonal ortholog lin-32 to diversify cell fate in a Caenorhabditis elegans sensory lineage." The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2011 Sep 14; 31(37):13281-91.
2011
Siehr MS, Koo PK, Sherlekar AL, Bian X, Bunkers MR, Miller RM, Portman DS, Lints R. "Multiple doublesex-related genes specify critical cell fates in a C. elegans male neural circuit." PloS one. 2011 6(11):e26811. Epub 2011 Nov 01.
2010 Jul
Hurd DD, Miller RM, Núñez L, Portman DS. "Specific alpha- and beta-tubulin isotypes optimize the functions of sensory Cilia in Caenorhabditis elegans." Genetics. 2010 Jul 0; 185(3):883-96. Epub 2010 Apr 26.
2010
Miller RM, Portman DS. "A latent capacity of the C. elegans polycystins to disrupt sensory transduction is repressed by the single-pass ciliary membrane protein CWP-5." Disease models & mechanisms. 2010 3(7-8):441-50. Epub 2010 Mar 11.

Current Appointments

Associate Professor - Department of Biomedical Genetics, Center for Neural Development & Disease (SMD) - Primary
Associate Professor - Department of Biology RC (RC)

Education

PhD | Molecular Biology and Genetics | Univ of Pennsylvania1995
BA with Honors, | Biochemistry | Univ of Pennsylvania1988