Alan N. Mayer, MD, PhD      

Titles
Pediatric gastroenterologist, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin; assistant professor, Pediatrics (Gastroenterology) and Cell Biology, Neurobiology, Medical College of Wisconsin.

Division
Gastroenterology and Nutrition

Research center/program
Regenerative Medicine and Developmental Biology

Research interests
Cell and developmental biology, gastrointestinal diseases

Study interests
Cell differentiation, embryology, epithelial morphogenesis, genetic mechanisms of growth control, organogenesis of the digestive tract, ribosome biogenesis, RNA-binding proteins, zebrafish development.

Education
Medical degree, Cornell University Medical College, New York, 1995; doctorate, Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Science, New York, 1995; residency, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 1995-1997; fellowship, combined program in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Certifications
Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology. 

Honors
Biomedical Fellow of the Cornell Tri‑institutional MD/PhD Program, 1987; Vincent DuVigneaud Award of Excellence, Cornell University Medical College, 1994; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Post‑doctoral Fellowship, 1997; AGA Scientific Skills Session Travel Award, 2001; Child Digestive Health and Nutrition Foundation–Young Investigator Development Award, 2004; NASPGHAN Fellow Research Award (to N. Venkatasubramani), 2006.

Representative publications

  • Makky K and Mayer AN. Zebrafish Offers New Perspective on Developmental Role of TOR Signalling. Organogenesis. 2007; 3 (2):67-69.
  • Venkatasubramani N, Mayer AN. A Zebrafish Model for the Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS). Pediatric Research. 2008; 63:348-352. (Cover)
  • Zhang J and Mayer AN. Rbm 19 is Essential for the Morula-Blastocyst Transition in the Mouse embryo. BMC Developmental Biology. 2008; in press.
  • Makky K, Duvnjak P and Mayer AN. A High-Throughput Assay to Measure Whole Body Mebabolic Rate Using Zebrafish Larvae. J Biomolecular Screening. 2008; in press.
  • Makky K, Tomasini A, and Mayer AN. Growth Control of thje Vertebrate Intestine by Interplay of the Tuberous Sclerosis 2 Gene with p53. 2009; in preparation.
  • Makky K, Tomasini A and Mayer AN. Coordination of Nutrient Homeostasis with Growth Control by Target of Rapamycin Acting through the Nuclear Receptor Small Heterodimer Partner. 2009; in preparation.
  • Tomasini AJ, Schuler A, Zebala JZ, Mayer AN. PhotoMorphs  : A Novel Light-Activated Morpholino Heteroduplex for Controlling gene Expression in Zebrafish. 2009; submitted.
  • Marshall K and Mayer AN. Lkb 1 Coordinates Intestine Growth, Morphogenesis and Differentiation to Regulate the Timing of the Endoderm-Intestine Transition via the TOR pathway. 2009; in preparation.

Grants

  • NPO Gene Function in Mammalian Intestine (R03 DK067176-01), NIH/NIDDK, principal investigator.
  • Positional Cloning of the Leadbelly Mutation from Zebrafish, Digestive Disease Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, principal investigator.
  • Biochemical Mechanism of Nil per os (npo), a Novel RNA-binding Protein Required for Intestinal Development, Child Digestive Health and Nutrition Foundation, principal investigator.
  • Growth Control in the Zebrafish Intestine, Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Grant, principal investigator.
  • The Role of TOR in Digestive Tract Development, NIH-R21, principal investigator.
  • Identification of Zebrafish Mutants Defective in Pancreas Development, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Posdoctoral Fellowship for Physicians, principal investigator.
  • Developmental Genetics of Gut and Pancreas in Zebrafish, NIH-K08, principal investigator.

Contact
Children's Research Institute
8701 Watertown Plank Road
Wauwatosa, WI 53226
Phone: (414) 456-5894
E-mail: alanmayer@mac.com