Research Focus

Professor Tamas Bartfai, Ph.D., focuses on two main research areas: 1) the roles of neuropeptide galanin in depression, anxiety, and seizures; and 2) fever, cytokine action in the brain and thermoregulation. The neuropeptide galanin has been found to influence several physiological processes such as cognition and memory, and regulation of mood. This is achieved at three galanin receptor subtypes that control the release of various neurotransmitters and hormones (e.g., acetylcholine, noradrenaline, glutamate, dopamine, insulin, growth hormone, prolactin).

Despite being among the most common pathophysiological signs of disease, we know little about fever. By studying the actions of fever producing substances, pyrogens in the brain, we are learning about fever, an adaptive stress response to microbial infection and to psychological stress. The center of the fever response is the warm sensitive and pyrogen sensitive neuron that is being characterized in great molecular detail; providing insights into how temperature regulation, metabolic rate and aging are correlated. There is a strong emphasis on the translational aspects of the research. Dr Bartfai has been involved in industry and academia in the development of several drugs that are in clinical use and he brings this angle of investigation to each experiment in the laboratory and the department.

Education

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Stockholm University, 1973
B.S., Physics and Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, 1971

Professional Experience

Postdoctoral training Yale University, Paul Greengard; Hebrew University, Shimon Gatt
Visiting scientist:College de France, Jean-Pierre Changeux; The Rockefeller University, Gerald M. Edelman
1986-1995 Neurochemistry (Chair), University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
1999-2003 Department of Biochemistry, The Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
2000-2012 Professor, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute
2006-2011 Chair, Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Resarch Institute
2011 Professor of Drug Discovery, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, UK
2012 Professor, Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute
Adjunct professorships: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; the Rockefeller University, New York, NY
Industry:
1995-2000 Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland, Sr. VP, Head of Neurology and Psychiatry Drug Discovery
2002-2008 Advisor Novartis, Neuroscience
2009 Advisor Pfizer Neuroscience, Metabolic Disease area
2008-2010 Head of SAB, Pfizer Incubator

Awards & Professional Activities

Eotvos Medal 1966, Budapest, Hungary; Swedberg Prize 1985, Royal Swedish Academy; Ericsson Prize 1996 Royal Swedish Academy (shared);Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar Award 2002; Member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Member, Academia Europaea; Member, Society for Neuroscience; Member, Cytokine Society; Member, Scientific Advisory Board, The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute
Editorial Boards: Nature, Molecular Pharmacology
Editor-in-chief: Drug Discovery Mechanisms
Regular referee: European Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Neuroscience

Selected References

Vezzani A, Bartfai T, Bianchi M, Rossetti C, French J. Therapeutic potential of new antiinflammatory drugs. Epilepsia. 2011 Oct;52 Suppl 8:67-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03242.x. Review. PubMed PMID: 21967368.

Bartfai T, Buckley PT, Eberwine J. Drug targets: single-cell transcriptomics hastens unbiased discovery. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2012 Jan;33(1):9-16. Epub 2011 Oct 25. PubMed PMID: 22032985; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3259260.

Sagi VN, Liu T, Lu X, Bartfai T, Roberts E. Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel pyrimidine derivatives as sub-micromolar affinity ligands of GalR2. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2011 Dec 1;21(23):7210-5. Epub 2011 Sep 25. PubMed PMID: 22018787; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3278223.

Klein I, Sanchez-Alavez M, Tabarean I, Schaefer J, Holmberg KH, Klaus J, Xia F, Marcondes MC, Dubins JS, Morrison B, Zhukov V, Sanchez-Gonzalez A, Mitsukawa K, Hadcock JR, Bartfai T, Conti B. AdipoR1 and 2 are expressed on warm sensitive neurons of the hypothalamic preoptic area and contribute to central hyperthermic effects of adiponectin. Brain Res. 2011 Nov 14;1423:1-9. Epub 2011 Sep 17. PubMed PMID: 22000082; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3215583.

Bajo M, Madamba SG, Lu X, Sharkey LM, Bartfai T, Siggins GR. Receptor subtype-dependent galanin actions on gamma-aminobutyric acidergic neurotransmission and ethanol responses in the central amygdala. Addict Biol. 2011 Sep 28. doi: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2011.00360.x. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 21955024; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3252398.

Vezzani A, Maroso M, Balosso S, Sanchez MA, Bartfai T. IL-1 receptor/Toll-like receptor signaling in infection, inflammation, stress and neurodegeneration couples hyperexcitability and seizures. Brain Behav Immun. 2011 Oct;25(7):1281-9. Epub 2011 Apr 5. Review. PubMed PMID: 21473909.

Bartfai T, Lees GV. Pharma TARP: a troubled asset relief program for novel, abandoned projects in the pharmaceutical industry. ScientificWorldJournal. 2011 Feb 14;11:454-7. PubMed PMID: 21336460.

Sanchez-Alavez M, Osborn O, Tabarean IV, Holmberg KH, Eberwine J, Kahn CR, Bartfai T. Insulin-like growth factor 1-mediated hyperthermia involves anterior hypothalamic insulin receptors. J Biol Chem. 2011 Apr 29;286(17):14983-90. Epub 2011 Feb 17. PubMed PMID: 21330367; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3083203.

Mitsukawa K, Lu X, Bartfai T. Galanin, galanin receptors, and drug targets. EXS. 2010;102:7-23. Review. PubMed PMID: 21299058.

Osborn O, Sanchez-Alavez M, Dubins JS, Gonzalez AS, Morrison B, Hadcock JR, Bartfai T. Ccl22/MDC, is a prostaglandin dependent pyrogen, acting in the anterior hypothalamus to induce hyperthermia via activation of brown adipose tissue. Cytokine. 2011 Mar;53(3):311-9. Epub 2010 Dec 21. PubMed PMID: 21177120; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3033975.

Vezzani A, French J, Bartfai T, Baram TZ. The role of inflammation in epilepsy. Nat Rev Neurol. 2011 Jan;7(1):31-40. Epub 2010 Dec 7. Review. PubMed PMID: 21135885.

Eberwine J, Bartfai T. Single cell transcriptomics of hypothalamic warm sensitive neurons that control core body temperature and fever response Signaling asymmetry and an extension of chemical neuroanatomy. Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Mar;129(3):241-59. Epub 2010 Oct 21. Review. PubMed PMID: 20970451; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3065349.

Bartfai T. Why is the New York Times writing so much about Alzheimer's disease therapies? ScientificWorldJournal. 2010 Sep 14;10:1886-9. PubMed PMID: 20852830.

Lu X, Roberts E, Xia F, Sanchez-Alavez M, Liu T, Baldwin R, Wu S, Chang J, Wasterlain CG, Bartfai T. GalR2-positive allosteric modulator exhibits anticonvulsant effects in animal models. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 24;107(34):15229-34. Epub 2010 Jul 26. PubMed PMID: 20660766; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2930524.

Bartfai T, Conti B. Fever. ScientificWorldJournal. 2010 Mar 16;10:490-503. Review. PubMed PMID: 20305990; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2850202.

Sanchez-Alavez M, Tabarean IV, Osborn O, Mitsukawa K, Schaefer J, Dubins J, Holmberg KH, Klein I, Klaus J, Gomez LF, Kolb H, Secrest J, Jochems J, Myashiro K, Buckley P, Hadcock JR, Eberwine J, Conti B, Bartfai T. Insulin causes hyperthermia by direct inhibition of warm-sensitive neurons. Diabetes. 2010 Jan;59(1):43-50. Epub 2009 Oct 21. Erratum in: Diabetes. 2010 Mar;59(3):756. PubMed PMID: 19846801; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2797943.

Tabarean I, Morrison B, Marcondes MC, Bartfai T, Conti B. Hypothalamic and dietary control of temperature-mediated longevity. Ageing Res Rev. 2010 Jan;9(1):41-50. Epub 2009 Jul 23. Review. PubMed PMID: 19631766; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2818054.

Osborn, O., Brownell, S.E., Sanchez-Alavez, M., Salomon, D., Gram, H., Bartfai, T. Treatment with an Interleukin 1 beta antibody improves glycemic control in diet-induced obesity. Cytokine 44:141-148 (2008).

Sanchez-Alavez, M., Klein, I., Brownell, S. E., Tabarean, I. V., Davis, C. N., Conti, B. & Bartfai, T. Night eating and obesity in the EP3R-deficient mouse. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, USA 104:3009-3014 (2007).

Mazarati, A, Langel, U, Bartfai, T. Galanin: an endogenous anticonvulsant? Neuroscientist 7:506-517 (2001).

Conti, B., Sanchez-Alavez, M., Winsky-Sommerer, R. et al. Transgenic mice with a reduced core body temperature have an increased life span. Science 314:825-828 (2006).

Drug Discovery (2005) Elsevier, has been published in English, Mandarin and Japanese and used in several universities