David H. Farb, PhD
Professor, Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics
Biography
David H. Farb was appointed Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine in 1990. Dr. Farb is also Director of the university-wide NIGMS training program in Biomolecular Pharmacology. He has also served as a member of the Drug Development Work Group of Mass Insight, co-author of the Massachusetts Technology Road Map for Drug Discovery, and a consultant for a number of small to large pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and patent litigation companies. He is regularly interviewed by local, national and international media.
As head of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, he focuses on the identification of pharmacological treatments for mental disorders of learning and memory. His research integrates existing electrophysiological, behavioral, pharmacological, and molecular genetic technologies in a novel systems-level platform for assessing the impact of cognitive enhancers such as neuroactive steroids upon fundamental hippocampal systems for pattern separation (encoding), and pattern completion (retrieval) that are believed to be essential for cognition in all mammals, including man. Deficits in aspects of episodic memory dependent on hippocampal function are evident in a variety of mental disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, Alzheimer’s Disease, and normal aging. Existing pharmacotherapies are limited and carry substantial risk of adverse effects. In search of new approaches for discovery, high-density electrophysiological recordings in awake behaving rats are being used to identify deficits in hippocampal function that underlie cognitive deficits exhibited by aged animals and animals reared in social isolation, the latter being a model for environmental stress during development. Drug delivery via nanoparticles encapsulating hydrophilic or hydrophobic molecules are being engineered for delivery across the blood brain barrier. Nanoparticle composition is being tailored to better deliver drug to specific target sites. Neuroactive drugs and proteins, biomarkers for novel diagnostics, sensitive dyes for neural mapping, and many other applications are envisioned. The major advantage of this technique is the noninvasive delivery of molecules to the CNS via a peripheral injection.
A multidisciplinary approach that includes the techniques of neurophysiology, molecular biology, patch-clamp electrophysiology, cell biology, and molecular neuroanatomy are combined to elucidate the mechanisms and modalities of cognitive enhancers and the discovery of therapeutic treatments for disorders or diseases of the nervous system.
Other Positions
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Education
- Brandeis University, PhD
- Long Island University, BA
Publications
- Published on 4/25/2022
Ratner MH, Farb DH. Probing the Neural Circuitry Targets of Neurotoxicants In Vivo Through High Density Silicon Probe Brain Implants. Front Toxicol. 2022; 4:836427. PMID: 35548683.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/1/2021
Tipton AE, George J, Ratner M, Farb D, Russek S. Data from single nuclei RNA-sequencing reveals a prodromal gene network response in excitatory neurons of a humanized rat Alzheimer's disease model. Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Dec; 17 Suppl 2:e058589. PMID: 34971150.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/1/2021
Ratner MH, Downing SS, Guo O, Odamah KE, Stewart TM, Kumaresan V, Robitsek RJ, Xia W, Farb DH. Prodromal dysfunction of a5GABA-A receptor modulated hippocampal ripples occurs prior to neurodegeneration in the TgF344-AD rat model of Alzheimer's disease. Heliyon. 2021 Sep; 7(9):e07895. PMID: 34568591.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/9/2019
Ratner MH, Kumaresan V, Farb DH. Neurosteroid Actions in Memory and Neurologic/Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2019; 10:169. PMID: 31024441.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/14/2015
Robitsek J, Ratner MH, Stewart T, Eichenbaum H, Farb DH. Combined administration of levetiracetam and valproic acid attenuates age-related hyperactivity of CA3 place cells, reduces place field area, and increases spatial information content in aged rat hippocampus. Hippocampus. 2015 Dec; 25(12):1541-55. PMID: 25941121.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/30/2014
Ratner MH, Farb DH, Ozer J, Feldman RG, Durso R. Younger age at onset of sporadic Parkinson's disease among subjects occupationally exposed to metals and pesticides. Interdiscip Toxicol. 2014 Sep; 7(3):123-33. PMID: 26109889.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/1/2014
Farb DH, Ratner MH. Targeting the modulation of neural circuitry for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Pharmacol Rev. 2014 Oct; 66(4):1002-32. PMID: 25237115.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/23/2014
Smith CC, Martin SC, Sugunan K, Russek SJ, Gibbs TT, Farb DH. A role for picomolar concentrations of pregnenolone sulfate in synaptic activity-dependent Ca2+ signaling and CREB activation. Mol Pharmacol. 2014 Oct; 86(4):390-8. PMID: 25057049.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/6/2014
Smith CC, Gibbs TT, Farb DH. Pregnenolone sulfate as a modulator of synaptic plasticity. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2014 Sep; 231(17):3537-56. PMID: 24997854.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/10/2014
Gutiérrez ML, Ferreri MC, Farb DH, Gravielle MC. GABA-induced uncoupling of GABA/benzodiazepine site interactions is associated with increased phosphorylation of the GABAA receptor. J Neurosci Res. 2014 Aug; 92(8):1054-61. PMID: 24723313.
Read at: PubMed
View 93 more publications: View full profile at BUMC