Research Assistant Professor of Neurology
Phone: (412) 648-9154
e-mail: olv1@pitt.edu

Specialized Areas of Interest

Role of mitochondria in regulation (deregulation) of neuronal ionic homeostasis; neurodegeneration.

Biography

Olga Vergun, PhD, research interests include different aspects of mitochondrial physiology. Though it has been recognized for many years that mitochondria involve to both acute brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases, the mechanisms of mitochondrial pathology still remain obscure. Therefore, Dr Vergun studies the interaction between mitochondria, calcium signaling, free radicals and energy metabolism in cell physiology and pathology. She has demonstrated a strong correlation between mitochondrial de-energization and perturbation of neuronal calcium homeostasis under conditions similar to excitotoxic insult during brain hypoxia. In addition, she investigated why excessive calcium accumulation in mitochondria is toxic and how to prevent irreversible mitochondrial dysfunction. For this purpose she employed quantitative fluorescence microscopy to monitor the activity of a single isolated mitochondrion. The data have demonstrated that brain mitochondria are much more sensitive to calcium than previously thought, and that mitochondrial calcium uptake can activate a non-specific pore in brain mitochondria, ‘the permeability transition pore’, in its reversible and non-reversible modes. Her data have also demonstrated that the dynamics of the depolarization of a single organelle is not the same in respond to toxic and non-toxic stimulus and therefore can be used as an indicator of mitochondrial pathology.

Current projects focus on clarifying the role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases. Her immediate research goals include,

1. revealing the mechanisms of calcium-induced mitochondrial depolarization at pathological conditions;
2. clarifying the interaction between mitochondrial function and alpha-synuclein, a protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease; and
3. comparing the mitochondria in several brain regions to understand why some neurons, for example substantia nigral neurons in Parkinson’s disease, are more vulnerable of than other.

Dr. Vergun's publications can be reviewed through the National Library of Medicine's publication database.

Professional Membership Organization

Biophysical Society
Society for Neuroscience
Physiology Society (UK)

Editorial Service

• Ad Hoc Reviewer:

Neurobiology of Disease
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Endocrinology
Neurobiology of Aging
The Journal of Neuroscience
Journal of Neurochemistry