Anthony Ariza, Physiology

Anthony Ariza

Affiliation:
Orser Lab, Department of Physiology, University of Toronto

Supervisor:
Dr. Beverley Orser - Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine; Professor of Physiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; and Co-Director, Perioperative Brain Health Centre, Sunnybrook HSC.

PhD thesis:
Dr. Ariza’s completed his PhD from the Graduate School of Medicine at Nagoya University under the supervision of Dr. Kozo Kaibuchi. The results from his graduate studies have impacted the fields of mental health, cognition and addiction disorders. He has identified novel key proteins that are involved in reward pathways. Specifically, he studied CREB-binding protein (CBP), a protein that activates and regulates gene expression in reward pathways. Because the role of CBP-interacting proteins are unknown, Dr. Ariza used a proteomic approach to identify and study these interacting partners. Using mice that were conditioned to show reward-associated behaviours, he created a library of nuclear proteins that were involved in the reward pathway. Next, he used this new database to characterize and study signaling cascades of transcription factors, and showed a transcription factor (NPAS4) and co-activator (MKL2) that are critically involved in reward-related behaviours. He published two independent research articles in prestigious academic journals that describe the results.

  1. Phosphorylation of Npas4 by MAPK Regulates Reward-Related Gene Expression and Behaviors”. Cell Reports, 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.10.116
  2. Dynamic subcellular localization and transcription activity of the SRF cofactor MKL2 in the striatum are regulated by MAPK”. Journal of Neurochemistry, 2021, DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15303

Current Research:
Anthony Ariza is a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physiology at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurological disorders. In 2021, he joined the Orser Lab to gain a better understanding of translational neuroscience. His current postdoctoral studies focus on the molecular mechanisms that contribute to a decline in brain function after anesthesia and surgery.

Dr. Ariza is working on the regulation of α5-GABAA receptors cell-surface expression by a novel inhibitory peptide and how it influences the tonic current and memory impairment.

Through his research, he hopes to identify novel treatments for perioperative neurocognitive disorders and other neurological disorders associated to the increased activity of the α5-GABAA receptors such as Alzheimer’s disease, down syndrome and depression.

Scholarships/Awards:
Dr. Ariza’s graduate research was supported by a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of the Japanese Government.