Gavin R Rumbaugh

Gavin R Rumbaugh, Ph.D.

Professor, Scripps Research/UF Scripps

Department: SR-NEURO-RUMBAUGH LAB
Business Phone: (561) 228-3461
Business Email: gavinrumbaugh@ufl.edu

About Gavin R Rumbaugh

Lab Website: rumbaugh.scripps.ufl.edu/

The Rumbaugh laboratory focuses on molecular and genetic mechanisms that shape synapse and circuit biology within the mammalian nervous system. We do this because cognitive processing that subserves adaptive behavior is executed in response to information flow within neural circuits constructed through a highly specific and defined synaptic architecture. Our principle experimental approach is to regulate the expression of major neurodevelopmental disorder genes in mammalian models and then elucidate the impact that these perturbations have on molecular, cellular, circuit, and behavioral phenotypes. This is a powerful approach that provides molecular insight into the relationship between cell biology within individual neuronal subtypes and how this cell biology shapes the synaptic architecture of neural circuits that subserve cognitive processing and behavioral adaption.

The lab is comprised of three collaborative working groups:

1) Neuronal Cell Biology Group – trainees and staff scientists involved in cell-based projects focused on elucidating molecular mechanisms within in neuronal subtypes that influence synapse function and circuit connectivity.

2) Systems Neurobiology Group – trainees and staff scientists that use rodent models to understand how regulation of NDD gene expression impacts in vivo neural circuit connectivity and how changes in neural connectivity contributes to adaptive behavior.

3) Small Molecule Discovery Group – a collaborative team that includes neuroscience trainees and drug discovery scientists that seek to discover drug-like small molecules that are capable of inducing or suppressing the expression of genes known to regulate synapse biology and neural circuit connectivity. When new probes are discovered, they are shared with the Cell Biology and Systems Neurobiology Groups, where they work together to understand how these probes regulate brain function that guides adaptive behaviors.

Related Links:
Additional Positions:
Professor
2019 – Current · Scripps Research/UF Scripps
Associate Professor, Neuroscience
2012 – 2019 · Scripps Research
Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
2010 – 2012 · Scripps Research

Accomplishments

Member – National Advisory Mental Health Council
2024 · National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH)
Fellow – Kavli Frontiers of Science
2015 · Kavli Foundation and The National Academy of Sciences
Young Investigator Award
2009 · NARSAD
Faculty Research Award
2009 · American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
Alabama Health Sciences Foundation Scholar
2006 · Alabama Health Sciences Foundation
National Research Scholar Award
2002 ·
NCAA/NAIA Academic All-America
1996 · Westminster College

Research Profile

The Rumbaugh laboratory focuses on molecular and genetic mechanisms that shape synapse and circuit biology within the mammalian nervous system. We do this because cognitive processing that subserves adaptive behavior is executed in response to information flow within neural circuits constructed through a highly specific and defined synaptic architecture. Our principle experimental approach is to regulate the expression of major neurodevelopmental disorder genes in mammalian models and then elucidate the impact that these perturbations have on molecular, cellular, circuit, and behavioral phenotypes. This is a powerful approach that provides molecular insight into the relationship between cell biology within individual neuronal subtypes and how this cell biology shapes the synaptic architecture of neural circuits that subserve cognitive processing and behavioral adaption.

The lab is comprised of three collaborative working groups:

1) Neuronal Cell Biology Group – trainees and staff scientists involved in cell-based projects focused on elucidating molecular mechanisms within in neuronal subtypes that influence synapse function and circuit connectivity.

2) Systems Neurobiology Group – trainees and staff scientists that use rodent models to understand how regulation of NDD gene expression impacts in vivo neural circuit connectivity and how changes in neural connectivity contributes to adaptive behavior.

3) Small Molecule Discovery Group – a collaborative team that includes neuroscience trainees and drug discovery scientists that seek to discover drug-like small molecules that are capable of inducing or suppressing the expression of genes known to regulate synapse biology and neural circuit connectivity. When new probes are discovered, they are shared with the Cell Biology and Systems Neurobiology Groups, where they work together to understand how these probes regulate brain function that guides adaptive behaviors.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0001-6360-3894

Publications

2022
Author response: Endogenous Syngap1 alpha splice forms promote cognitive function and seizure protection
. [DOI] 10.7554/elife.75707.sa2.
2022
Endogenous Syngap1 alpha splice forms promote cognitive function and seizure protection
eLife. 11 [DOI] 10.7554/elife.75707.
2021
Syngap1 regulates experience-dependent cortical ensemble plasticity by promoting in vivo excitatory synapse strengthening
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118(34) [DOI] 10.1073/pnas.2100579118. [PMID] 34404727.
2019
Author response: Re-expression of SynGAP protein in adulthood improves translatable measures of brain function and behavior
. [DOI] 10.7554/elife.46752.029.
2019
Re-expression of SynGAP protein in adulthood improves translatable measures of brain function and behavior
eLife. 8 [DOI] 10.7554/elife.46752.
2018
SYNGAP1 heterozygosity disrupts sensory processing by reducing touch-related activity within somatosensory cortex circuits
Nature Neuroscience. 21(12):1-13 [DOI] 10.1038/s41593-018-0268-0. [PMID] 30455457.
2005
Ribosomal S6 kinase 2 interacts with and phosphorylates PDZ domain-containing proteins and regulates AMPA receptor transmission.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 102(42):15006-11 [PMID] 16217014.

Grants

Apr 2024 ACTIVE
Preclinical development of a precision therapy for a monogenic mental health disorder
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH
Jul 2023 ACTIVE
Impact of autism genetic risk on cortical sensorimotor dynamics
Role: Other
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
Apr 2023 ACTIVE
Drug Discovery for First-In-Class Myosin 10 Inhibitors as a Novel Target for Glioblastoma
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NINDS
Jan 2023 ACTIVE
Intersection of causal neurodevelopmental disorder risk genes, cortical circuit function, and cognitive processing required for behavioral adaptions
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
Sep 2022 ACTIVE
Neurodevelopmental Disorder Risk Gene Regulation of Intrinsic Membrane Excitability: A Rheostat that Tunes Dendritic Morphogenesis to Regulate Circuit Assembly During Development
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
Apr 2022 – May 2023
SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency being linked to developmental epileptic encephalopathy and identification of a small molecule SYNGAP1 up-regulator
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: PRAXIS PRECISION MEDICINES
Apr 2022 – Dec 2022
Circuit-level substrates of ASD-related cognitive and behavioral impairments
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
Apr 2022 – Feb 2024
Integrated Platform for Discovery and Validation of Probes that Restore Protein Expression in Single-Gene Causes of Autism and Related Disorders
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
Apr 2022 ACTIVE
Molecular and cellular basis for autism spectrum disorders caused by exacerbated translation
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
Apr 2022 ACTIVE
Causal Interactions between genetic risk, precise cortical connectivity, and autismassociated behaviors
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NINDS
Apr 2022 ACTIVE
Myosin II regulation of actin dynamics and the selective vulnerability of methamphetamine- and opioid-associated memory
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIDA
Apr 2022 – Mar 2023
Drug Discovery for First-In-Class Myosin 10 Inhibitors as a Novel Target for Glioblastoma
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NINDS
Apr 2022 – Oct 2022
Human Neuron Dysfunction Associated with Presumed Disease-Causing SYNGAP1 Variants
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: LEON & FRIENDS

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship
2000-2006 · Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Ph.D. in Biophysics and Pharmacology
2000 · Georgetown University

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(561) 228-3461
Emails:
Office Assistant:
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
Location B311
130 SCRIPPS WAY BLDG 3B3
JUPITER FL 33458