Robert Edwards, MD
Robert Edwards is a neuroscientist known for his work on the molecular and cellular basis of neurotransmitter release. His group identified the proteins that transport classical transmitters into neurosecretory vesicles, contributing to characterization of their role in quantal release, their mechanism and their regulation as well as their structure. Using the transporters, he has helped to establish the phenomenon of neurotransmitter corelease. His lab recently showed that individual neurons can release two transmitters with different frequency dependence, and the two vesicle populations recycle through distinct mechanisms. He has also used the transporters to characterize the formation of dense core vesicles that mediate regulated release of peptides. Since the original identification of a vesicular monoamine transporter by selection in MPP+, his work has focused on the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and most recently the presynaptic protein a-synuclein. The work also has implications for behavior and neuropsychiatric illness. Robert Edwards was raised in New York City, attended Yale College and Johns Hopkins Medical School. He trained in clinical neurology, studied as a postdoctoral fellow with William J. Rutter at UCSF and joined the faculty at UCLA in 1990 before returning to UCSF in 1995. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.