Research Interests
I explored the role of the immune system in response to nerve injury in the taste system for my graduate work. This work focused on the global immune response to injury and not the cell-to-cell signaling involved in the process. As a postdoctoral fellow, I want to explore the regulation of ion channels and how this affects downstream signaling cascades that control action potential generation in the olfactory system.
My project will look at the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 and how it regulates the Kv1.3 potassium channel in response to stimulation with brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The activation of either SHP-2 or the tyrosine kinase TrkB help to determine the changes in the current generated by Kv1.3.
Funding
- 2007-present Institutional NRSA Training Grant to FSU. NIDCD, National Institutes of Health. “Chemosensory Training Program” T32DC00044
- 2006-2007 Individual NRSA. NIDCD, National Institutes of Health. “Adhesion Molecules and Chemokines in the Taste System” F31DC008263
Awards
- 2006 Travel Award for AChemS XXVIII sponsored by MCG School of Graduate Studies
- 2005 Travel Award for AChemS XXVII Annual Meeting sponsored by AChemS
- 2004 Excellence in Research Award (Physiology) MCG Graduate Research Day
- 2003 Travel Award for SfN Annual Meeting sponsored by MCG School of Graduate Studies
- 2001 Arthur Hicks Organic Chemistry Award
- 2001 Atlanta Panhellenic Association Scholarship
- 2000-2002 Shibley-Hicks Scholarship (Dept. of Biology)
- 2000-2001 Sun Trust Bank Scholarship
- 2000 CRC Press LLC Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award
- 1999 All-Conference Academic Team for Softball
- 1998-2002 Governor’s Honor Scholarship (Valedictorian)
- 1998-2002 Hope Scholarship
- 1998-2002 LaGrange College Cunningham Scholarship
- 1998-2002 Dean’s List
- 1998-2002 Omicron Delta Kappa Scholar
Professional Affiliations
- 2005-present Society for Neuroscience
- 2004-present Association for Chemoreception Sciences
- 2004-present The American Physiological Society
Abstracts
- Cavallin MA, Colley BS, Biju KC, Fadool DA. 2008. Modulation of the voltage-gated potassium channel, Kv1.3, by the adaptor proteins Grb10 and nShc in the olfactory bulb. International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste (ISOT), Abstract P102, San Francisco, CA. Chemical Senses 33: S65.
- Montgomery L, Cavallin M, Biju KC, Carlson S, Ramos E, Godbey SJ, Fadool DA. 2008. Prolonged odorant stimulation sculpts olfactory sensory neurons. Southeastern Nerve Net (SENN), Atlanta, GA.
- Carlson S, Ramos E, Montgomery L, Cavallin MA, Godbey SJ, Biju KC, Fadool DA. 2007. Prolonged odorant stimulation sculpts olfactory sensory neurons. TriBeta Undergraduate Research Poster Competition at FSU.
- Cavallin MA, McCluskey LP. 2006. Expression and regulation of lingual vascular adhesion molecules following unilateral chorda tympani nerve section. Abstract 86. AChemS XXVIII. Chemical Senses 31:A25.
- Cavallin MA, McCluskey LP. 2005. Upregulation of lingual chemokines and adhesion molecules following unilateral chorda tympani nerve section. Abstract 359. AChemS XXVII. Chemical Senses 30:A228.
- Cavallin M, McCluskey LP. 2003. Upregulation of immune function increases the number of lingual macrophages after chorda tympani nerve section: a cellular substrate for neurophysiological plasticity? Abstract 594.2. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience (SfN).
Publications
- Marks DR, Tucker K, Cavallin MA, Mast TG, Fadool DA. 2008. Awake intranasal insulin delivery modifies protein complexes and alters memory, anxiety, and olfactory behaviors. J Neurosci, submitted revision.
- Colley BS, Cavallin MA, Biju KC, Fadool DA. 2008. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor modulation of Kv1.3 channel is disregulated by adaptor proteins Grb10 and nShc. BMC Neurosci, submitted revision.
- Cavallin MA, McCluskey LP. 2007a. Upregulation of the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 following unilateral nerve injury in the peripheral taste system. Neurosci Lett 413(3):187-190.
- Cavallin MA, McCluskey LP. 2007b. Upregulation of intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 after unilateral nerve injury in the peripheral taste system. J Neurosci Res 85(2):364-372.
- Cavallin MA, McCluskey LP. 2005. Lipopolysaccharide-induced up-regulation of activated macrophages in the degenerating taste system. J Neurosci Res 80(1):75-84. **Figure selected as cover illustration.
Career Objective
My future goal is to be a biology professor at a small, liberal arts college. I want to inspire undergraduates to get involved in research, while teaching them the basic fundamental principles of science.