Robert E. W. Fyffe, Ph.D. University Professor Associate Dean for Research Affairs (937) 775-3018 (voice) (937) 775-3009 (fax) E-mail: robert.fyffe@wright.edu

Biographical Sketch

Robert E. W. Fyffe, Ph.D., was appointed associate dean for research affairs at Wright State University School of Medicine in April 2001. In this position, he is responsible for administering programs designed to support the medical school's research activities in the basic and clinical sciences.

Dr. Fyffe is a professor of neuroscience, cell biology, and physiology at Wright State. From 2000 to 2006, he served as director of Wright State's Center for Brain Research, which was established with support from the Kettering Fund. In 2007, the School of Medicine significantly expanded the scope and mission of the Center for Brain Research by establishing a Comprehensive Neuroscience Center for improving research of neurological, developmental, cognitive, psychiatric, and trauma-induced nervous system disorders. Dr. Fyffe previously served as director of Wright State's Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program.

A native of Alexandria, Scotland, Dr. Fyffe received a B.Sc. degree with honors in biochemistry from the University of Glasgow. He holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in neurophysiology from the University of Edinburgh. Before joining Wright State's faculty in 1992, he was a research fellow at the Australian National University and a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Fyffe's research on the anatomy and physiology of nerve cells is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In 2008, Dr. Fyffe received the distinction of being named a University Professor. The title is a special rank awarded by the Wright State University Board of Trustees. It is reserved for full professors who have made outstanding contributions beyond the confines of their own discipline.

Research Interests

Dr. Fyffe's laboratory is interested in synaptic mechanisms and integrative properties of neurons in spinal cord and brainstem circuits, involved in motor control and auditory processing respectively. Current studies are focused on the patterns of expression, and the subcellular localization, of pre- and post synaptic membrane ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors. We use a range of quantitative light and electron microscopic experimental and analytical methods, in conjunction with electrophysiological and computational approaches. Our primary collaborators, in addition to colleagues within the department, include Bruce Walmsley (Australian National University), Ken Rose (Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario) and Brian Robertson (University of Leeds, UK).

See also: Postsynaptic Excitability

Recent Publications

Alvarez, F.J., Dewey, D.E., McMillin, P. and Fyffe, R.E.W. (1999) Distribution of cholinergic contacts on Renshaw cells in the rat spinal cord: a light microscopic study. J. Physiol. 515: 787-797 [PUBMED]

Pearson, J.C., Sedivec, M.J., Dewey, D.E. and Fyffe, R.E.W. (2000) Light microscopic observations on the relationships between 5-hydroxytryptamine-immunoreactive axons and dorsal spinocerebellar tract cells in Clarke's column in the cat. Exp. Brain Research 130: 320-327 [PUBMED]

Millar, J.A., Barratt, L., Southan, A.P., Page, K.M., Fyffe, R.E.W., Robertson, B. and Mathie, A. (2000) A functional role for the two-pore domain K channel, TASK-1, in cerebellar granule neurons. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 97: 3614-3618 [PUBMED]

Alvarez, F.J., Fyffe, R.E.W., Dewey, D.E., Haftel, V.K. and Cope, T.C. (2000) Factors regulating AMPA-type glutamate receptor subunit changes induced by sciatic nerve injury in rats. J. Comp. Neurol.. 426: 229-242 [PUBMED]

Alvarez, F.J. and Fyffe, R.E.W. (2000) Nociceptors for the 21st century. Current Review of Pain 4: 451-458 [PUBMED]

Lauf, P.K., Zhang, J., Gagnon, K.B.E., Delpire, E., Fyffe, R.E.W. and Adragna, N.C. (2001) K-Cl cotransport: immunohistochemical and ion flux studies in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells transfected with ful-length and C-terminal-domain-truncated KCC1 cDNAs. Cell. Physiol. Biochem. 11:143-160 [PUBMED]

Stephens, G., Morris, N.P., Fyffe, R.E.W. and Robertson, B. (2001) The Cav 2.1/ 1A (P/Q-type) voltage-dependent calcium channel mediates inhibitory neurotransmission onto mouse cerebellar Purkinje cells. Eur. J. Neurosci. 13: 1902-1912 [PUBMED]

Fyffe, R.E.W. (2001) Spinal motoneurons: synaptic inputs and receptor organization. In T.C. Cope (ed) Motor Neurobiology of the Spinal Cord. CRC Press. 21-46

Lauf, P.K., Zhang, J., Delpire, E., Fyffe, R.E.W., Mount, D.B. and Adragna, N.C. (2001) K-Cl cotransport: Immunochemical and functional evidence for more than one KCC isoform in HK and LK sheep erythrocytes. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 130: 499-509 [PUBMED]

Liedtke, W., Leman, E., Fyffe, R., Raine, C. and Schubart, U. (2002) Stathmin-deficient mice develop an age-dependent axonopathy of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Am. J. Pathol. 160: 469-480 [PUBMED]

Rich, M.M., Waldeck, R.F., Cork, L.C., Balice-Gordon, R.J., Fyffe, R.E.W., Wang X., Cope, T.C. and Pinter, MJ. (2002) Reduced endplate currents underlie motor unit dysfunction in canine motor neuron disease. J. Neurophysiol. 88:3293-3304 [PUBMED]

Bui, T.V., Cushing, S., Dewey, D., Fyffe, R.E., and Rose, PK (2003) Comparison of the morphological and electrotonic properties of Renshaw cells. J. Neurophysiol. 90:2900-2918 [PUBMED]

Leao, R.N., Oleskevich, S., Sun, H., Bautista, M.A., Fyffe, R.E.W. and Walmsley, B. (2004) Differences in glycinergic mIPSCs in the auditory brainstem of congenitally deaf and normal neonatal mice. J. Neurophysiol 91:1006-1012 [PUBMED]

Meunnich, E.A.L.and Fyffe, R.E.W. (2004) Focal aggregation of voltage-gated, Kv2.1 subunit-containing, potassium channels, at synaptic sites in rat spinal motoneurons. J. Physiol. 554: 673-685 [PUBMED]

Morris, N., Fyffe, R.E.W. and Robertson, B. (2004) Characterisation of hyperpolarization-
activated currents (Ih) in the medial septum /diagonal band (MS/DB) complex in the mouse. Brain Research 1006: 74-86 [PUBMED]

Wang, L, Fyffe, R.E.W. and Lu, L. (2004) Identification of a Kv3.4 channel in corneal epithelial cells. Invest. Opth. Vis. Sci. 45: 1796-1803 [PUBMED]

Deng, Z. and Fyffe, R.E.W. (2004) Expression of P2X7 receptor immunoreactivity in distinct subsets of synaptic terminals in the ventral horn of rat lumbar spinal cord. Brain Res 1020: 53-61 [PUBMED]

Liao, T., Wang, L., Halm, S.T., Lu, L., Fyffe, R.E., and Halm D.R. (2005) The K+ channel KvLQT (Kcnq1) located in the basolateral membrane of distal colonic epithelium is not essential for activating C1- secretion. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol (In Press; Apr 20; PMID:15843438) [PUBMED]

Bui TV, Dewey DE, Fyffe RE, Rose PK (2005) A comparison of the inhibition of Renshaw cells
during subthreshold and suprathreshold conditions using anatomically and physiologically realistic models. J Neurophysiol (in press, May 25; PMID 15917321) [PUBMED]