USC College Department of Biology

Faculty

Biological Sciences has more than 60 full-time faculty members, as well as more than 20 faculty with joint appointments and 15 visiting or adjunct professors. Among its many distinctions and honors, the Ph.D. program faculty includes two members of the National Academy of Sciences, four members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 18 holders of endowed chairs and professorships.

Donald Arnold

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

Contact Information
E-mail: darnold@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 821-1266
Office: RRI 204B

Education

B.A. , University of Toronto, 1/1986
Ph.D. , Johns Hopkins University, 9/1992

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

Tenure Track Appointments

Associate Professor, University of Southern California, 05/10/2007-
Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, 10/01/1999-05/09/2007

PostDoctoral Appointments

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard University, 03/01/1997-09/30/1999
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Rockefeller University, 09/01/1992-02/28/1997

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests

Professor Arnold studies how ion channels are targeted to specific subcellular locations in neurons and how electrical activity can modulate that targeting. The physiological properties of a neuron are dependent not only on the properties of ion channels that they expresse, but also on their spatial distributions within that neuron. Little is known about how neurons maintain unique and often complex subcellular patterns of expression for each ion channel. Arnold uses biolistic transfection, confocal microscopy, cellular and molecular biology methods in his work on ion channels in neuron's synapse, axon and dendrite. His lab seeks to answer the following questions: What are the specific protein motifs on an ion channel that specify localization at the axon vs. the dendrite, or at sites that are postsynaptic to one input but not to another? How does electrical stimulation of a specific synapse affect ion channel expression at that synapse? What are the molecular motors that mediate transport of ion channels?

Research Keywords

brain, cell, neurobiology, ion channel, neuron, confocal microscopy, membranes & transport

Research Specialties

Neurobiology

Funded Research

Contracts and Grants Awarded

Genetically encoded probes for visualizing neuronal structure and function (NIh (HIGMS)), Don B. Arnold, Richard Roberts, $1,206,200, 08/01/2008-07/31/2012
Subcellular Localization of Ion Channels (NIH (NINDS), Donald B. Arnold, $1,173,600, 07/01/2006-06/30/2010
Subcellular Localization of Ion Channels (NIH (NIMH)), Don B. Arnold, $610,024, 08/01/2004-07/31/2009

Publications

Journal Article

Lewis, Jr., T. L., Mao, T., Svoboda, K., Arnold, D. B. (2009). Myosin-dependent targeting of transmembrane proteins to neuronal dendrites. Nature Neuroscience. Vol. 12 (5), pp. 568-76.
Arnold, D. B., Rivera, J., Chu, P. (2007). The role of Kif5B in Axonal Localization of Kv1 K(+) channels. Europian Journal of Neuroscience. pp. 136-146.
Chu, P., Rivera, J., Arnold, D. B. (2006). A role for Kif17 in transport of Kv4.2. Journal of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 281, pp. 365-373.
Rivera, J., Chu, P., Arnold, D. B. (2005). The T1 domain of Kv1.3 mediates intracellular targeting to axons. European Journal of Neuroscience/Blackwell. Vol. (22), pp. p. 1853-62.
Arnold, D. B. (2003). Rivera, J. F., Ahmad, S., Quick, M. W., Liman, E. R., and Arnold, D. B. Nature Neuroscience.
Arnold, D. B. (1999). Arnold DB, Clapham DE Molecular determinants for subcellular localization of PSD-95 with an interacting K+ channel. Neuron 23(1):149-57 (1999). Neuron.

Honors and Awards

Career Development Award, 2004
NIH/NSF Career Development Award, Independent Scientist Award, National Institute of Mental Health, 2004