Mike Seibert

Education

Ph.D. Candidate in Neuroscience Training Program | Expected Graduation 2024

B.S. in Microbiology, May 2016 | University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Summary

Mike Seibert is a Ph.D. candidate in the Neuroscience Training Program (NTP) graduate program and the 2023 Yi-ming and Hua-nien C. Yin Neuroscience Fellow. His thesis research focuses on understanding how Ca²⁺ sensors contribute to regulated secretion in neurons and neuroendocrine cells and how this key process contributes to larger physiological processes like neuronal network activity and whole-organism homeostasis. His current projects include studying how a unique synaptotagmin (SYT) isoform, SYT9, regulates both neurotransmitter release in mouse striatal neurons and hormone release from the anterior pituitary. Using a combination of patch-clamp electrophysiology and live-cell fluorescence imaging, Mike found that SYT9 regulates the release of the neuromodulator, substance P, to control GABA release from striatal neurons by activating the neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor. These findings define a novel role for SYT9 in neurons and provide a glimpse into how Ca²⁺ sensors can differentially contribute to regulation of neuronal activity. Another project involves studying the molecular machinery that underlies Ca²⁺-triggered hormone release from DCVs in pituitary gonadotrophs.

Publications

Seibert MJ, Evans CS, Stanley KS, Wu Z, Chapman ER. Synaptotagmin 9 modulates spontaneous neurotransmitter release in striatal neurons by regulating substance P secretion. J Neurosci. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1857-22.2023

Watson ET, Pauers MM, Seibert MJ, Vevea JD, Chapman ER. Synaptic vesicle proteins are selectively delivered to axons in mammalian neurons. eLife. 2023. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.82568